THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Will Power sat down at the podium, smiled and said, "Good day."
The Australian meant it as a greeting, but he most definitely had a good day.
Power started up front and never relinquished his spot to win the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama on Sunday, capturing a race that escaped him last year and doing so without a misstep.
"I can’t think of a race where I’ve been so cool, so physically fine and where I had everything go so right," Power said, adding that maybe last year at Sonoma was comparable.
Power extended his wire-to-wire lead enough for some comfort in the final laps and finished 3.38 seconds ahead of Scott Dixon on Sunday, while Dario Franchitti was third on the 2.38-mile road course at Barber Motorsports Park.
Power became the first IndyCar driver to stay up front for the distance since Franchitti did it at Sonoma in 2009.
Power dominated in practice and qualifying rounds the past two years at Barber, and stressed how badly he wanted to win after a pit strategy backfired and cost him the lead in 2010 — and perhaps the IndyCar points championship.
"It’s just satisfying not only to get a win here, because I felt we should have won last year," he said. "We had such a good car, and we didn’t get it. I was very determined to get it this weekend."
IndyCar’s second race since moving to the double-file restart helped produce plenty of thrills — along with six full-course cautions. Six drivers were knocked out of the race by contact, including Ryan Briscoe, who started in second place.
But all the trouble remained safely behind his teammate Power, and so did the other drivers.
"It was one of the most relaxing races I’ve ever had," Power said. "I was just really cruising."
It was Dixon’s second straight runner-up finish at Barber. Power never gave him an opening on the narrow track.
"I think our car was a little better (than Power’s) for the first 15 laps," Dixon said. "But it’s a track where if you’re racing a car that’s within a few 10ths of the speed you can run, it’s almost impossible to pass unless the guy makes a mistake. You try and crowd them as much as possible, and that’s what we did for the first 20 laps, it just wasn’t enough. It’s frustrating."
Dixon also wasn’t happy about Power’s positioning on the restarts, saying he squeezed him by crossing the centre line. Staying in your lane was emphasized in the pre-race driver’s meeting.
"If you look at the restarts, I’m pretty much on the grass on most of them," Dixon said. "Especially the first two were really bad. So he’s even over the centre line, on the right side of the centre line. It was a disaster waiting to happen."
Power said Dixon showed his displeasure by taking "a big weave at me." Power returned the favour, but didn’t concede that he did anything wrong.
"The rule is you can be anywhere on the track after the start/finish line," Power said. "Simple as that. That’s what they told us."
Power turned to his former strategist John Erickson after Clive Howell had to leave Alabama for a family emergency.
Power’s Penske teammate, Briscoe, ran into trouble for the second straight race. Ryan Hunter-Reay bounced off a curb trying to pass underneath and sent Briscoe spinning into the gravel on lap 57.
Hunter-Reay was penalized for avoidable contact, dropping from fifth to 18th, but Briscoe wasn’t sympathetic.
"He’s sticking his nose into where it doesn’t belong," Briscoe said. "It’s not a passing zone."
But he wasn’t complaining about the restarts.
"The double-file restarts at this track are awesome," Briscoe said. "That was some really good racing."
Danica Patrick made a four-spot move after that caution, up to third, after opting not to take tires on a yellow-flag pit stop on lap 57 and getting out ahead of Franchitti. It was a short-lived advantage and she finished 17th.
Marco Andretti finished fourth for his second straight top-5 at Barber, while Oriol Servia was fifth. Defending champion Helio Castroneves finished seventh, behind Tony Kanaan. Kanaan made the biggest move after starting 24th in his second race with KV Racing.
Franchitti started in seventh and managed to move up but couldn’t catch Dixon and Power.
"These guys were driving off in the distance and there was nothing I could do," he said. "I just had to hang on to try not to make any mistakes. But ultimately, third is pretty good."
Toronto’s James Hinchcliffe was knocked out of his first IndyCar race, along with E.J. Viso, on lap 40 after getting caught up in Viso’s spinout.
Hinchcliffe, who admitted to a rookie mistake in Lap 1 trouble, put the blame on Viso and spoke to him about it afterward.
"Day 1 of racing school, you learn to use the brakes and clutch," said Hinchcliffe after coming in 24th. "He hit the gas."
Alex Tagliani of Lachenaie, Que., finished 15th.
IndyCar President Brian Barnhart notified drivers Sunday morning that the restart zone would begin 325 feet from the start/finish line, up from 200 feet at St. Petersburg.
"I can’t stress the importance of everyone getting through the first lap cleanly," Barnhart told them.
It didn’t happen. Unlike St. Petersburg, the drivers managed the first turn unscathed, but trouble started moments later. J.R. Hildebrand and Raphael Matos made contact and Hinchcliffe spun out.