Inside The Garage: Will Power Finds Andretti Groove in Arlington

Here’s what’s happening this week Inside The Garage: Arlington, Texas — Will Power just wanted one clean weekend. He said he got one at Arlington. Had he forgotten that he wrecked Saturday morning when Scott Dixon was stalled in a turn and Power ran into him? Nah. When a car has just a little damage from some contact, it’s easy to get over. Especially when there was nothing Power could do. “Honestly, I never even thought about it,” Power said in his news conference after finishing third Sunday in the inaugural Grand Prix of Arlington. “I didn’t think about it after. It was such a small incident. It wasn’t anything, no. “I felt bad for Scott.” [INDYCAR TAKEAWAYS: What We Learned From Arlington] Power wrecked early in the St. Petersburg race (his second wreck of the weekend) and then wrecked in Phoenix qualifying and then again battling for the lead with Christian Rasmussen. For a driver who desperately wanted to show Andretti Global that hiring him away from Team Penske to drive the No. 26 car this year was the right move for all, it wasn’t the start he wanted. And it sparked some questions about whether he was too desperate. “My guys deserve better than what has been these two races, for sure,” Power told me after Phoenix. “I feel really bad that I haven’t executed.” Power wouldn’t consider himself desperate, though. He’s just getting used to driving for a new manufacturer (Honda) for a new team (Andretti). Brakes, suspension and how the car gets up to speed can vary from team to team, and that could have been a little bit of his issue. Power said he was already over the incident with Rasmussen by the time he got to Arlington. “It’s obviously disappointing when we had such a good race going there,” Power told me and other reporters Friday. “It’s a pity for both of us, and we both could have done something different there, but that’s racing. “We’re both racing for a win, so you’re not going to let it go easy. But the good news is that we were incredibly fast. We went from last all the way to first and pit stops were good and strategy was good. It’s all the things I’ve been saying about this team. I believe it’ll be the best team in the next couple of years.” Power said he and his new spotter had to get used to each other’s lingo. For example, his former spotter would say wing when the other driver’s wing is in front of his rear tire. His current spotter just says corner. “You can see how tight it was. For us to actually make it was just a matter of inches, to be honest, for that not to happen,” Power said. The 45-year-old, who has won two INDYCAR titles, with 45 wins and 71 poles, knows what it takes to be successful. “I’m very happy with the new team. [It’s] very, very strong,” Power said Sunday. “Still improving a lot, too. I think this will be the team to beat this year, actually. “I was saying three years it would take us to get everything, but I’m going to say this year. It’s good stuff.” And the team is happy with him. Even before the season started, Kyle Kirkwood told me and other reporters about how Power would help the team. “Will’s a character,” said Kirkwood, who won the Arlington race. “He’s very passionate about what he talks about, so that’s something that’s new. People are getting adjusted to that, but it’s good. “It’s been really good to have him on board, knowing what he feels in the car. Because I’ve never really driven anything other than a Foyt car. So I don’t have a reference for what maybe another team’s really good car is like. So having him involved with recent experience … of what a good car around road courses and ovals is like, it’s been great.” [ARLINGTON FALLOUT: Palou Praises Kirkwood for ‘Clean’ Racing] However, Power didn’t have to do anything to gain respect, as he has 322 career starts. “There’s a reason why he’s been in this sport for so long,” Kirkwood said. Some Extra D.C. Details At the course unveiling for the INDYCAR Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington, several details about the race weekend were revealed: — Fans will need a ticket (which will be free) to enter the National Mall area. Tickets will be available through the race website, likely in April. There will be corporate suites to generate revenue for the event, which will be a non-profit with proceeds going to Washington-area charities. — The race will be 110-125 laps in length around the 1.66-mile course. The 250 in the race name is part of the celebration of the country’s 250th birthday. Going 250 miles would be 150-151 laps, which would be too long. The current sentiment is that using kilometers would not be embraced. — Cars will only be on track Saturday-Sunday, Aug. 22-23, in order to limit disruptions to the area. — There will be no support series as the footprint is too small to handle an additional paddock. Team Penske Follow-Up (Or Down) Good thing Team Penske swept the Cup and INDYCAR races at Phoenix because this past weekend was not a good one. They were shut out of the top five and had only one driver in the top 10 in the two events. In the INDYCAR race at Arlington, David Malukas was sixth, Scott McLaughlin was 11th, and Josef Newgarden was 15th. “We’ll just have to leave and study today and the performance loss that we’re seeing and try and make for the future,” Newgarden said in a team news release. In the Cup race at Las Vegas, Joey Logano finished 15th, Ryan Blaney was 16th and Austin Cindric was 19th. In The News — Christopher Bell will compete in the truck series race this weekend at Darlington as he drives the No. 62 truck for Halmar Friesen Racing. — Conor Daly will drive for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in the Indianapolis 500. Daly will be teammates with Jack Harvey. He Said What?! When asked by Will Power why he doesn’t have an in-car camera often, Alex Palou replied: “I’m down. Obviously, we’re trying to hide stuff. But anytime.” We’ll assume the second sentence was sarcasm. Power retorted: “We’ll talk to INDYCAR. I can organize it. Give me permission.” To which Palou chimed in again: “I’ll start hiding some other stuff then.” Social Spotlight They Said It “I changed my mind. I decided those guys, really to be truthful, don’t have a lot else in the offseason. I made that decision. I’m always concerned about it. I’ll put it that way.” —Joe Gibbs on his drivers competing in sprint-car events. In Inside The Garage, Bob Pockrass takes us behind the scenes of the motorsports world the way only he can.