Ericsson and Power battled on track at Iowa Speedway. Photo: Kevin Dejewski
Marcus Ericsson currently leads the IndyCar points standings, and has done so for a few weeks running, and some veterans of the sport are realizing just how consistently quick the Swede can be.
Now in his fourth IndyCar season, Ericsson has finished in the top 10 for all but two races this year, and also earned his first Indianapolis 500 win in May.
At Iowa Speedway last weekend, Will Power, who finished on the podium for both races and now sits just behind Ericsson in the points, was effusive of his counterpart and described him as one of the best drivers he races against.
“Just over the years watching him race, [Ericsson] is one of the toughest guys,” said Power. “Like he’s very, very good at starting back there and making his way all the way to the front.
“He’s not the best qualifier, but he’s probably the best racer in the series, in my opinion. He’s no joke. He’s tough to beat.
“There was an example of him racing really hard [in Satuday’s race.] It hurt the overall finish for him because I was trying to save my tires knowing how long that stint was going to be.
“But yeah, he’s tough on restarts. He’s a very, very good racer.”
Over the two races of the doubleheader, Ericsson finished in the top 10 both days despite starting in 12th and 15th.
He was told after Sunday’s finale of the praise that Power had of his driving, and related that it means a lot to hear those words coming from a championship-winning veteran.
“It means a lot because he’s one of the best IndyCar drivers in the last, what, 20 years he’s been here, one of the fastest. Yeah, that means a lot to me obviously.
“But I think as well, we’ve been obviously very strong. I worked extremely hard to put myself in a position where I can be running up front and fight for the championship. It’s nice to see that hard work — reward for that hard work.
“Again, it’s a team effort. I’ve had incredible support with my core group of people, my engineer Brad, Michael O’Gara on the strategy, all the other people that have been with me since I came to Ganassi.
“That stability helped me build my confidence and be where I am today. Yeah, coming back to what you said, it means a lot to hear that from someone like Will.”
Keyword: Ericsson praised as the ‘best racer in the series’ by Power