IndayCar: Power rues another missed opportunity

Will Power (12), of Australia, leads a group of race cars out of turn three during the Pocono IndyCar 500 race. Photo / AP

Australia's Will Power was left to rue another missed opportunity after a heated on-track battle with his teammate cost him the IndyCar series outright lead.

Power led for 69 laps in Sunday's event at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania before copping a late drive-through penalty for blocking fellow Team Penske driver Helio Castroneves.

He wound up finishing 10th, erasing his 39-point buffer on the championship standings to now sit level with Castroneves at the top.

Stablemate Jaun Pablo Montoya won the race - his first open-wheel victory in North America in 14 years.

"We were pretty good today, but unfortunately I made a mistake," two-time series runner-up Power told FoxSports.com.

"I was trying to let Helio go and he didn't go to the outside. That's why I moved over to the inside but he didn't go."

Power was fuming after being told of the penalty, with team boss Tim Cindric telling him to "get your head on straight" over the radio.

He was later seen speaking to IndyCar's president of competition Derrick Walker.

It's the fifth time this season Power has found himself on the wrong end of race control officials, including a pit-lane speed violation at the Indy 500 and in Texas as well as a contact penalty in Detroit.

Castroneves insisted there were no hard feelings between the pair after the race.

"That's one thing about our team, Team Penske, there are no team orders," he said.

"We race hard and we push for it.

"Unfortunately, I'm not the one to make the calls. But I think we were really pushing hard and obviously fighting for the championship."

Rookie Carlos Munoz finished the 200-lap race in third, ahead of Power's compatriot Ryan Briscoe in fourth and New Zealand's Scott Dixon.

The series next heads to Iowa for the Indy 300.

-AAP