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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Power’s Perfect For Penske
When I came over to America I never dreamed I would end up with Team Penske, Will Power tells SPEEDtv.com's Robin Miller.
Will Power fits the Penske organization perfectly. Having polished the rough edges off of Ryan Briscoe to make him a title contender in 2009, Power can expect to encounter the same process to mold him into championship material. (LAT)
The last time Roger Penske fielded three cars for a full season, his drivers made mincemeat of the CART competition. That was 1994 when Al Unser Jr., Emerson Fittipaldi and Paul Tracy won 12 of the 16 races and finished 1-2-3 in the point standings.
It’s difficult to imagine that kind of dominance being repeated today, especially considering the strength of Target/Ganassi Racing’s 1-2 punch of Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon.
But, with Thursday’s confirmation that Will Power is joining Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe for a three-pronged IndyCar assault in 2010, things figure to get even tighter up front.
And the balance of Power may have shifted.
“I think it raises the level of performance required to finish at the front, for sure,” said Mike Hull, the managing director at Target/Ganassi the past decade. “It raises expectations and heightens what we’ll need to do to continue to win.
“Will is an extraordinary talent. One of the reasons we’re all in racing is to watch guys like Will Power drive race cars.”
Power, who competed part-time for Team Penske in 2009 after being hired to stand-in for Castroneves during his tax evasion trial, was rewarded for his patience and performance with a full-time seat when The Captain was able to secure Verizon Wireless as the primary sponsor.
“Like I said several times last year, a part-time ride with Roger is better than a full-time deal with most teams and, obviously, this is just a fantastic opportunity,” said Power, who scored one victory and a pair of pole positions in his six starts in ’09.
“When I came over to America I never dreamed I would end up with Team Penske.”
The 27-year-old Aussie showed immediate speed as a rookie in Champ Car during 2006 with Derrick Walker and matured into a two-time winner in 2007. It was Walker who approached Penske in the fall of 2008.
“I told him that with Helio’s pending situation he probably was going to need a good driver and Will would be an excellent choice,” recalled Walker, who is still trying to find backing to keep his IndyCar program alive.
Power went to KV Racing in 2008 because Walker couldn’t answer the bell, yet will always be grateful to his old boss. “I can never thank Derrick enough for what he did, going to Roger and helping me get the ride every driver wants,” he said.
Of course if Power hadn’t delivered, Penske wouldn’t have expanded to three cars but The Captain seldom misses when choosing drivers.
“I don’t want to speculate, but we would have done everything we could to keep Will in the fold,” replied Tim Cindric, president of Penske Performance, when asked what would have happened if Verizon hadn’t stepped up.
“He did an excellent job in a difficult situation and he’s a real team player. He’s doing what he does for the right reasons.”
The other pressing thing Power is doing is recovering from his broken back, suffered at Sonoma last August.
“It’s going very well, way ahead of schedule, my back brace is already off and I’m swimming and using the rowing machine every day,” he exclaimed. “I’ll be ready for testing in January and I can’t wait to get back in a car.
“I think we can contend for the title.”
It’s difficult to imagine that kind of dominance being repeated today, especially considering the strength of Target/Ganassi Racing’s 1-2 punch of Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon.
But, with Thursday’s confirmation that Will Power is joining Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe for a three-pronged IndyCar assault in 2010, things figure to get even tighter up front.
And the balance of Power may have shifted.
“I think it raises the level of performance required to finish at the front, for sure,” said Mike Hull, the managing director at Target/Ganassi the past decade. “It raises expectations and heightens what we’ll need to do to continue to win.
“Will is an extraordinary talent. One of the reasons we’re all in racing is to watch guys like Will Power drive race cars.”
Power, who competed part-time for Team Penske in 2009 after being hired to stand-in for Castroneves during his tax evasion trial, was rewarded for his patience and performance with a full-time seat when The Captain was able to secure Verizon Wireless as the primary sponsor.
“Like I said several times last year, a part-time ride with Roger is better than a full-time deal with most teams and, obviously, this is just a fantastic opportunity,” said Power, who scored one victory and a pair of pole positions in his six starts in ’09.
“When I came over to America I never dreamed I would end up with Team Penske.”
The 27-year-old Aussie showed immediate speed as a rookie in Champ Car during 2006 with Derrick Walker and matured into a two-time winner in 2007. It was Walker who approached Penske in the fall of 2008.
“I told him that with Helio’s pending situation he probably was going to need a good driver and Will would be an excellent choice,” recalled Walker, who is still trying to find backing to keep his IndyCar program alive.
Power went to KV Racing in 2008 because Walker couldn’t answer the bell, yet will always be grateful to his old boss. “I can never thank Derrick enough for what he did, going to Roger and helping me get the ride every driver wants,” he said.
Of course if Power hadn’t delivered, Penske wouldn’t have expanded to three cars but The Captain seldom misses when choosing drivers.
“I don’t want to speculate, but we would have done everything we could to keep Will in the fold,” replied Tim Cindric, president of Penske Performance, when asked what would have happened if Verizon hadn’t stepped up.
“He did an excellent job in a difficult situation and he’s a real team player. He’s doing what he does for the right reasons.”
The other pressing thing Power is doing is recovering from his broken back, suffered at Sonoma last August.
“It’s going very well, way ahead of schedule, my back brace is already off and I’m swimming and using the rowing machine every day,” he exclaimed. “I’ll be ready for testing in January and I can’t wait to get back in a car.
“I think we can contend for the title.”
INDYCAR BRAZIL
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