Rainguard Water Sealers 600: 3 takeaways from IndyCar at Texas

Can you win by not losing? Does pack racing make everyone angry? Here’s what we learned from IndyCar’s Rainguard Water Sealers 600 at Texas.

The Verizon IndyCar Series put on another nailbiting show Sunday when Will Power won the Rainguard Water Sealers 600 at Texas. Power notched his second victory at Texas Motor Speedway after qualifying an average ninth but coming on stronger during one of the most chaotic races in recent IndyCar history.

It was the second win for Power in 2017 as well as the fourth for Team Penske in nine races, so worries about their demise seem to have been greatly exaggerated. It also broke the streak of three straight wins by Honda-powered cars. But that was just the start of the fun.

For the second year in a row, the night race at Texas was full of pack racing and that meant it was full of moments that legitimately scared viewers and ticked off drivers (and some team owners this time, too!). No one will forget this race any time soon.

Here’s what we learned from the Rainguard Water Sealers 600:

1) Sometimes it’s not how you win, it’s that you don’t lose

Will Power’s biggest accomplishment on Sunday was not wrecking. 14 of the 22 cars entered into the Rainguard 600 didn’t make it to the checkered flag. And most of them were collateral damage in incidents that weren’t their fault.

Scott Dixon was challenging Power for the victory within inches when Takuma Sato lost control and sent Dixon spinning (at least this time he stayed on the ground). Meanwhile, James Hinchcliffe getting squeezed while trying to drive three-wide between Tony Kanaan and Mikhail Aleshin was the start of an eight-car pile-up that necessitated a red flag.

Earlier in the race, Hinchcliffe had hit Castroneves who hit Sato on pit lane. And a less than complete cleanup of that incident left residue on the track that may have been the cause of Josef Newgarden’s wreck. This race was so full of unintentional chaos that it was almost a comedy of errors. Except it wasn’t funny.

2) Pack racing makes everyone angry

Tempers were running hot in the Rainguard Water Sealers 600, and with good reason. Pack racing is some of the most intense, and therefore potentially most dangerous, racing there can be and on Sunday it caused all kinds of problems.

Kanaan, normally one of IndyCar’s most beloved competitors, faced backlash after being involved in the multi-car wreck. Most people blamed Kanaan for starting it, and Hinchcliffe and Ed Carpenter both had less than kind words for TK when interviewed during the race broadcast.

Team owner Dale Coyne, upset at having to replace two more race cars and racking up even more repair bills, was seen on NBCSN marching himself over to Kanaan’s car during the red flag to give him a piece of his mind. For his part, Kanaan kept his cool and came home with a podium finish. You can hear his thoughts in the press conference video below. But everyone might need to let off some steam after this race.

3) Gabby Chaves is back (and we missed him)

What about the return of Gabby Chaves? After finishing in the Top 10 in the Indy 500, Chaves came home with a Top 5 in the Rainguard Water Sealers 600. Now, to be fair, part of that was due to attrition, but Chaves was holding his own in the Top 10 most of the night.

You might not remember that he was the IndyCar Rookie of the Year in his one full season in the league. He seems to be picking up where he left off, which is even more impressive considering that he’s doing it with a brand-new, small team in Harding Racing.

Let’s hope Chaves returns to IndyCar full-time in 2018 because based on these results, he could fit right into the youth revolution taking place with the likes of Alexander Rossi and Max Chilton, the latter of whom also impressed on Sunday.

Next: Verizon IndyCar Series standings after Texas

The Verizon IndyCar Series is off next week as the league breaks before heading to Road America. For the latest IndyCar news, follow along with the Motor Sports category at FanSided here.