By Canadian Press

IndyCar champ Will Power shoves Scott Dixon after crash during practice for Road America

Jun 17, 2023 | 2:54 PM

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (AP) — Reigning IndyCar champion Will Power shoved Scott Dixon after the two were involved in a crash on Saturday that severely damaged both cars during practice at Road America.

Dixon, the six-time IndyCar champion, had spun on course and re-entered the track ahead of Romain Grosjean and Power. Dixon allowed enough room for Grosjean to get by, but as Power approached the gap closed and Power couldn’t avoid hitting Dixon.

The two cars spun off course and Power slammed into a concrete wall. Both cars were extremely damaged, with only three hours to rebuild them ahead of qualifying.

Power then got out of his car, exchanged words with Dixon and shoved him in the chest. Power later kicked the air in frustration.

“Scott moved abruptly and I was coming,” Power said. “It’s a very unfortunate incident. Nothing I could really do there. Didn’t expect him to move. Such a pity. I felt like we had a pretty good car. We’ll rebuild it and see what happens.”

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Dixon acknowledged he was at fault.

“Didn’t realize Power was even there,” Dixon said. “I’m really sorry for him and obviously his team. Mistake on my behalf. I feel frustrated for obviously wrecking our car and his car as well.”

Power’s tough day continued during Saturday afternoon’s qualifying. He qualified 22nd in the 27-person field and will be right next to Dixon, who qualified 23rd. Dixon ended up using an entirely new car for qualifying.

As he discussed his frustrations at the end of the day, Power’s anger wasn’t solely directed at Dixon.

He wasn’t happy with the conditions at Road America following its repaving last fall.

“This track’s terrible when you go off it,” Power said after going off course in qualifying. “They do a terrible job here. They need to pick up their game. Any way you go off, you almost break your back every time. I’ve done it a couple of times this weekend. Need a kick in the butt for this place.”

Power also wasn’t happy with Grosjean.

“Grosjean is a piece of crap, if you saw what he did in practice,” Power said. “He needs a punch in the face.”

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Steve Megargee, The Associated Press