PORTLAND, Ore. — Put simply, if Will Power decided to hang up his driving shoes tonight, and not turn a lap in anger at Portland International Raceway, he would go down as one of the greatest IndyCar racers of all time — a top 10 all-time open-wheelman.
Just take a glance at his record: one Indy 500 win (2018), two championships (2014, 2022), not to mention four second-place finishes in the standings, 44 wins (fourth most all time), 71 poles (most ever), 316 starts, 141 top fives and 199 top 10s. In short, it’s as complete a resume as any driver could hope to have.
But as of Aug. 31, he’ll be out of contract at Team Penske with his future still completely undefined. Back in mid-May, team owner Roger Penske seemed optimistic Power would return:
“At the moment, we feel confident that he will be back. … He’s at the top of the list as far as what we might do next year.”
But here we are, approaching the middle of August, with just three races remaining on the 2025 schedule and still no word. When asked on Friday morning at Portland International Raceway, the site of his last victory in the NTT IndyCar Series, he was somewhat non-committal about what his future will be.
“I think it’ll be Nashville [Superspeedway, the track hosting the final race of the season], maybe it’s during that weekend or after the weekend, I would say I would know more about what I’m doing,” Power said.
“I mean, it’s what I assume, they’ve been pretty busy, maybe before if they tell me something, but then also from the contract’s perspective, I think after Aug. 31st I’m free, so yeah, that’s sort of the date.”
And for a driver with such a rich pedigree of success and 17 phenomenal years with Team Penske, one can’t help but feel like he is being short-changed.
Now, true, Power is 44 years old, but amidst a difficult season, beset by turmoil, scandal and a distinct lack of speed for Team Penske, the Australian veteran sits ninth in the overall standings, 30 points and three positions ahead of Scott McLaughlin and a whopping 57 points and six positions ahead of Josef Newgarden.
What’s more, Power’s desire to keep racing is absolutely evident. When asked what was still on his bucket list, he was quick to answer:
“It is still race wins and going for championships, the Indy 500, still the same burning in my belly, the desire for high performance and just competing at this really high level against some tough bloody people,” he said.
”I mean, the whole field, like you can’t really pick a bad person in this field, so I just enjoy that. I can’t say that you’re ever dissatisfied with an IndyCar race, as far as an enjoyment level, obviously results can be tough, but it really feels like the best racing in the world. It’s very tough and the racing is good and there’s passing, and it is unpredictable. It’s all the things that you kind of want, in a series, so yeah, that’s why I want to keep going.”
But despite being at an age when most drivers have long since retired or been shown the exit door, Power believes he still has not just what it takes to succeed but importantly a desire for growth too.
“I’m at the top of my game, still loving it, still working at it, still learning stuff and still quick.”
Speed is something he appears to have this weekend. Power will start third in Portland, IndyCar’s final road course of the year, with pole sitter Christian Lundgaard’s six-place grid penalty, and after qualifying, he expressed his confidence in an exclusive interview with Frontstretch’s Bryan Nolen.
“The car wasn’t bad, it’s missing a little bit, but it’s pretty good. I was hoping to get in the top six. We kind of struggled in the first practice session, so we definitely could win from there. We could have a good day and win from that spot.”
And what better time for Power to get his and Team Penske’s first win of the season than here at Portland International Raceway? While it wouldn’t guarantee him a new contract, it would be a good reminder to the rest of the field, and potentially a new team owner, that the man from Toowoomba still has exactly what it takes.
Danny Peters has written for Frontstretch since 2006. An English transplant living in San Francisco, by way of New York City, he’s had an award-winning marketing career with some of the biggest companies sponsoring sports. Working with racers all over the country, his freelance writing has even reached outside the world of racing to include movie screenplays.