Team Penske breaking through for its first win of the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series should have been a happy occasion. There should have been praise from the winning driver that the team never gave up, that it was just a matter of time. There should have been cheers and smiles.
For some reason, there wasn’t any of that.
If you close your eyes, Will Power‘s victory lane interview after winning Sunday’s (Aug. 10) Grand Prix of Portland will sound more like a driver saying goodbye than a driver eying future success with his long-time team.
“It’s just a big win for all of the team,” Power told FOX Sports’ Jack Harvey.
“We’ve had a rough year and it’s not really because we’ve been off the pace. It’s been unfortunate circumstances — I’ve had two engine failures, a tire failure. It’s a good, hard-fought win. We kind of split the strategy in the beginning. We picked the strategy to run hard, pull enough of a gap, a bit dicey at the end there, but yeah, man.
“Just stoked. I’ve had a great career with Verizon, with Penske. I really enjoy winning for the guys and everybody I’ve worked with for a long time. It’s awesome.”
Power frames the win as one for the team, which isn’t necessarily strange. This year has been the stuff of nightmares for Team Penske, and with three races to go in the season, heading into Portland, talk was beginning to circulate as to whether they were in for their first winless season since the 1999 CART campaign.
However, Power’s use of the past tense in this specific context is concerning. Coincidence? Perhaps. Armchair psychology? Certainly.
But still, who can be blamed for immediately widening their eyes when they hear “I’ve had a great career” from a winning driver whose future is openly in doubt? Power is 44 years old — nobody in their right mind expects him to go another 10 years, even another five would be more than impressive.
Perhaps it’s nothing and it only sounds foreboding given Power’s own circumstances. That’d be the comforting answer.
However, it gets worse when attention turns to Power’s words in the post-race press conference.
“No, I have no clue,” Power said when asked if he felt his win on Sunday would earn him a spot back in the No. 12 next year. “I don’t know. Yeah, nothing else to say, man. I don’t know.”
Power was later asked if he felt that he could take his mind off the issue and leave the proverbial ball in somebody else’s court.
His answer was quick and clear: “I don’t know, man. Maybe it’s my decision.”
Team Penske President Jonathan Diuguid joined Power in the press conference, but directed attention away from Power’s future when asked.
“Will’s future is about 30 minutes old from winning a race,” he said. “His future’s definitely bright. He did an amazing job today. Looking forward to the last two
races of the season.”
Once again asked of Power’s status a few moments later, Diuguid’s answer became even more concise.
“Look, I’m not going to discuss that today,” he said.
“I’m going to focus on the win, the team performance. Like you mentioned before, winning can do a lot of things. It’s very positive for our program. We’re going to reap all the benefits of that as we head to Milwaukee.”
Sometimes, the suspense and uncertainty become harder to stomach than the hypothetical bad answer.
Power has made it clear that he wants to keep racing in IndyCar and fighting for wins, which, as evidenced by Sunday’s result, he is more than capable of pulling off regardless of his age or the overall state of his team (or his team’s luck, to use his words).
The Australian made that fact clear in his own words after the race.
“I won three races last year,” he said. “If you’re a team, if you’re waiting on me to know if I’m good enough, I don’t know what you’re thinking. If you’re actually waiting, I’m not sure if this guy is good enough, just go back to last year and you’ll f***ing know.”
Still, cooler heads tend to prevail and Power is keeping his focus in the moment.
“After [August] 31st, I’m free,” Power told the media ahead of the Portland weekend when asked if he knew what the state of his contract was. Ostensibly, this refers to the deadline after which Power is free to examine his options in the driver market. Should the situation reach that point, it’s hard to imagine the man who has led Team Penske for over a decade would not be eagerly scooped up by another team.
In the meantime, David Malukas of A. J. Foyt Racing has been rumored as the top candidate to take over the No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet next year. Foyt’s team has shared a technical alliance with Penske since 2024 and has seen markedly improved results since their cooperation hit the ground.
The important qualifier here is that nobody, maybe not even Power himself, will know what happens until perhaps the weekend of the season finale at Nashville, as he suggested earlier in the weekend.
Alex is the IndyCar Content Director at Frontstretch, having initially joined as an entry-level contributor in 2021. He also serves as Managing Director of The Asia Cable, a publication focused on the international affairs and politics of the Asia-Pacific region which he co-founded in 2023. With previous experience in China, Japan and Poland, Alex is particularly passionate about the international realm of motorsport and the politics that make the wheels turn - literally - behind the scenes.