Will Power might have made a statement in turning the fastest lap of this week’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES testing at Sebring International Raceway.
The message might have been: “I’m still here.”
As recently as last month, the best qualifier in the sport’s history left no doubt that he believes he can be a contender not only for this upcoming series championship but many to follow. Yes, he might be in the twilight of his Hall of Fame career, but he feels he still has gas in the tank.
“I think I could be absolutely competitive for another five years if I wanted,” he flatly said.
Power turns 44 next week and is the second-oldest full-time driver in the series – Scott Dixon is a little more than seven months older than the Australian superstar. But while the two-time series champion driving the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet went without winning a pole last season for the first year since 2008, his race pace and overall competitiveness remained among the highest of drivers not named Alex Palou.
Power went to the last race of last season as the only driver with a chance to dethrone Palou. Power entered the season-ending Big Machine Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway trailing Chip Ganassi Racing’s two-time series champion by 33 points, and he qualified fourth, 20 positions ahead of Palou. But on Lap 12 of 206, Power’s seat belts came loose, forcing an unscheduled and lengthy pit stop.
By the time the critical safety situation was rectified, Power was four laps down to Palou, and he never recovered. At the checkered flag, Power was eight laps down in 24th place, a disappointing ending that allowed Colton Herta and Scott McLaughlin to jump him in the final standings. Nonetheless, the damage to Power’s championship hopes had been done.
Still, it was another good year for Power. He tied for the series lead with three race wins – two on road courses (Road America and Portland International Raceway), another on a short oval (Iowa Speedway) – and he totaled seven top-three finishes. His 366 laps led ranked second to McLaughlin, and he finished in the top five of most of the other meaningful statistical categories.
In the Sebring test, Power had a lap nearly a tenth of a second quicker than anyone not on his team, which might not sound impressive but is given the short course used. Only Josef Newgarden was close, which might be a preview of the next week’s season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding (Sunday, March 2 at noon ET on FOX, FOX Deportes, INDYCAR Radio Network).
Roger Penske’s organization has conquered the St. Petersburg event 11 times since 2006, with Power claiming two of the wins and a record nine poles.
That’s Power’s past; it’s his future that is the topic of the day.
He announced during last month’s preseason Content Days in Indianapolis that he had hired an agency to represent him for the first time in his career. It raised eyebrows given that Power is believed to be entering the final year of his current contract with Team Penske.
“I don’t want to think about anything but driving,” Power said. “Maybe I should have had a manager a long time ago. I think it's just generally now every driver has one. …(to) focus on what they do.”
Penske has always declined to publicly discuss employee contracts, but Power acknowledged having heard paddock chatter that David Malukas was signed by AJ Foyt Racing, which has a technical alliance with Team Penske, for a possible future exchange of teams. Given that Team Penske will be a three-car team for the fifth consecutive season, not everyone can have a seat.
Power defended his recent record.
“Honestly, the way I performed last year, if you did the same this year – winning three races in a season in INDYCAR now is very, very difficult,” he said. “The champion only won two (races), I believe.
“(Winning three races) is difficult to do, and if you're doing that, you probably should be driving in that series. You deserve a seat.”
Power is also proud of his continuity with Verizon, which is the primary sponsor on his car for the 16th consecutive year, the longest active streak in the sport.
“Won a ‘500’ (in that time), a couple of (series) championships, a lot of races, a lot of poles,” he said. “I've kept those guys on board, and I think companies like that want winners.”
All of this is not to say Power won’t be driving the No. 12 Chevrolet for seasons to come – he very well might be. But signing with A14 Management owned by two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso – former NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver Oriol Servia will manage Power’s account – is a statement that he wants his career and resume represented, and the lap at Sebring might be another showcase of his talent.
“(I’m) very determined to come back and have a strong 2025,” Power said. “I think we'll have the car, engine, package to do it, and I think Penske is in a very good spot right now. It will be a tough year, as it is, and that's why I enjoy it. I love that stuff.
“It's absolutely the goal, yeah, to definitely keep rolling while I'm really competitive. I was very competitive last year. I won three races and seven podiums. No one else in the field but McLaughlin did that. So, I'm still performing really high.”