Over the course of his career, Will Power has finished the Verizon IndyCar season in second place three times and each time it came down to the year’s final race. Well, it was time for the 33-year-old Australian to exorcise the demons and last week he did – in exciting fashion.
The Penske driver, who held a substantial lead in the standings, had just one driver standing in his way – and that was fellow Penske teammate Helio Castroneves. Neither of the two had ever won an IndyCar Championship but both were supportive of the other in their quest. Ultimately, it was Power who walked away with the title last week at California Speedway after a ninth place finish.
Power is now doing the media circuit, which comes with the territory. We spoke to him to find out how he feels about the victory, a potential switch to NASCAR and more – but the most interesting portion is what he said about accepting the privilege of driving the No. 1 vehicle next season.
CraveOnline: Well, how does it feel to win your first IndyCar championship!?
Will Power: It feels very satisfying and I’m very relieved. This feels awesome, man!
Crave: So, now you’re doing that whole tour thing, celebrating the win?
Power: Oh yeah, pretty much. I’m in New York City now, doing my media tour and I’m just having fun and really enjoying it.
Crave: Three times previously you had arrived at the final race with a chance to win and came up short. Did that add any pressure for last week’s final race at California Speedway?
Power: I would say so, for sure. I’ve been in that situation a few times, going in leading and then lost it. You just can’t help it, having the thoughts of history. But once I got into the car, I just tried to clear my thoughts and keep my head down.
Crave: What was going through your mind during the race – was that in the back of your mind?
Power: I tried to keep it out – keep it all out. All I had in my mind was how I had to make it to the top six, that’s all that mattered to me, that’s all that was in my mind – and in the safest way possible.
Crave: Were you keeping track of things – did you know before you finished that you’d won?
Power: Well, yes, of course. If Helio [Castroneves] fell out of the top three, I was going to win anyway no matter where I sat, or where I finished. So, it’s easier as a driver at that point, because it wouldn’t even of mattered where I finished but the way Helio drives, I just kept on it and just conservatively finished the race in ninth.
Crave: Speaking of Castroneves, did you speak to him before the race, since it was neck-and-neck between you two and neither of you had won the championship in your career?
Power: No, it didn’t really [come up]. We did not really talk, we were both kind of busy with public relations stuff and we talked like normal, but not like we’d had conversations about it.
Crave: Did you have any sort of a different approach this season?
Power: I just raced – just raced naturally. I didn’t think about points, I just put my head down and raced every event to win it, basically. That’s how I planned to go.
Crave: Did you have a favorite race this year?
Power: Well, my favorite racetrack was the Indianapolis road course and my favorite race has got to be Milwaukee. That was just a great win there.
Crave: What did you like the most about Milwaukee?
Power: Well, qualifying on a pole, leading the most laps and winning the race definitely stood out to me.
Crave: For sure. So, you’ve won your IndyCar championship now, does that mean winning the Indianapolis 500 is the next goal you’d like to accomplish?
Power: Another championship and winning the Indy 500 is always the aim – every year.
Crave: You’ve driven the No. 12 car since joining Penske in 2009. Now that you’ve won the title, is there any chance of switching to the champions’ No. 1 car?
Power: I think so! That’s a team decision but I would love to be No. 1.
Crave: Wouldn’t that make Team Penske No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3?
Power: That would, yeah. I think Roger [Penske] would like that. So, we’ll see.
Crave: That would definitely be a pretty cool sight, at least for the fans.
Power: Yeah, absolutely.
Crave: Now do have any thoughts of pursuing a career in NASCAR, since you’ve conquered IndyCar – what’s next for you?
Power: I enjoy racing IndyCar, so I don’t have any thoughts of moving to any other series right now. You know, I just really enjoy it – it’s fun, it’s tough and it’s what I like doing.
Crave: How do you plan on spending your summer?
Power: I have a little bit of a break now, so I’ll go back to Australia for a few weeks and then we get back into it. And at that point, I’ve got to start thinking about next year.
Ed Miller is a contributor for CraveOnline Sports and a movie quote extraordinaire. You can follow him on Twitter @PhillyEdMiller or “like” CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.
Photo Credit: Getty
