BELLE ISLE, Mich – Will Power has to be wondering what he ever did to earn this much bad luck in the NTT Indy Car Series. On Saturday, Power made a mistake in qualifying and would start a season worst 12th. It was actually his worst starting position since coming from 14th at Milwaukee in 2015. His only other start besides Saturday outside of the top 10 in that time frame was actually here in Belle Isle in the first Dual (11th) in 2017. 62 of his last 65 qualifying attempts heading into this weekend saw him roll off inside of the top 10.

That’s why Saturday morning was so rare for Power.

But, the race quickly got better. The Team Penske driver stormed from Row 6 to the top six in a matter of laps. By Lap 5, he was in the top five. When the caution came out for Ed Jones getting into the Turn 7 tire barriers, Power and the leaders hit pit road. His teammate Josef Newgarden had already pitted and inherited the lead. Power, had a blazing fast spot and exited his pit stall first among those in the pits and second overall behind Newgarden.

But, the stop was actually too quick.

His right front tire changer didn’t get the tire tightened and it came off when Power’s No. 12 Chevrolet exited pit lane. He’d have to creep around the track before hitting pit lane again. After being penalized for the incident, Power would only muster and 18th place finish.

“We just have to rebound tomorrow,” said Power. “Simply put, we just have to go out there and execute in every way. We’ve made a lot of little mistakes this year, some with strategy and some on me making a mistake in qualifying; we just need to do a better job and we have an opportunity to do that tomorrow. It just seems like one of those seasons where things don’t go your way, but I’ve had it the other way before too. We have really fast Verizon Chevys so I know it can turn around quickly.”

Power’s right too. At Indy he was a top three car before being penalized for a pit road infraction. He’d have to go to the end of the lead lap before charging back up to a fifth place finish. In Barber, he had a bad handling car and finished 11th. At COTA, he led the first 45 laps but a caution caught him out while leading. He had the best car that day.

In St. Pete, they pit too early thinking a caution would come out. He’d go from a sure win to a third place run.

What about last year?

In Phoenix he crashed while passing a lapped car. He led 80 laps that night. In Barber, he crashed while running second on an early race restart in the rain. At Texas, he crashed while battling a lapped car again. In Road America, his engine quit at the start of the race while starting on the front row. In Toronto, he was caught up in a crash while running up front.

Need I say more?

Power has had the speed, he just doesn’t have the luck.