How Power is tackling uncertain IndyCar future with defiance
- Archie O’Reilly
- 2 hours ago
- 10 min read
It cannot be easy for Will Power right now.
As he approaches the end of his 17th season of a legendary career with Team Penske, the great Australian is currently left without a contract for Year 18.
After taking victory at Portland International Raceway on Sunday - Penske’s first of a testing season - he has no idea whether it may be his last win for the team he has served for so long. Or whether, in the worst case, it may even be his final career win.
But ‘defiance’ is a word that comes to mind when you think of this great IndyCar champion.
“I’m driving the best I ever have. Simple as that,” Power insisted after his Portland win. “I’m not slowing down. I am not slower; I am faster. My toolbox is still big as far as understanding the cars, race craft, all that.
“Yeah, that’s me.”
After 15 races in 2025, Power is the lead Penske driver in points - ahead of two teammates with relatively fresh long-term deals in place with the team. Now sixth in the standings, he leads Scott McLaughlin (11th) by 57 points and Josef Newgarden (18th) by 103 points.
By defending his Portland triumph from 12 months ago, Power is now the only Penske driver with a victory for the team in 2025. Leading home Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard and Chip Ganassi Racing’s now-four-time champion Álex Palou, he ended a 15-race winless run for Penske - the team’s worst streak since 2007/2008.
But the driver with more wins than anyone for Roger Penske in IndyCar continues to be left in the dark over his future.
A two-time champion. An Indianapolis 500 winner. IndyCar’s best-ever qualifier. The driver fourth on the all-time wins list. But in a matter of weeks, he may be facing free agency. As the final two rounds of the season near, there is still no clarity on what 2026 will hold.
Power has long held the belief that his future would likely not become clear until post-season. But naturally, hints of frustration are starting to creep in - he has said as much - amid uncertainty that he currently can do little about given he cannot speak to other teams until his contract with Penske expires at the end of the month.
At the earliest, he admitted ahead of the Portland weekend that he could get clearer indications about his future the week of the season finale.
“I think it’ll be Nashville. Maybe it’s during the weekend or after the weekend, I would say I’ll know more about what I’m doing,” he suggested. “I assume [the team] have been pretty busy. Maybe before [Nashville there will be clarity] if they tell me something.
“But then also from a contract clause perspective, I think after the 31st [August] I’m free. So that’s the date.”
The almost-certain heir to Power in the No.12 car, David Malukas in his Penske-backed No.4 AJ Foyt Racing entry amid the teams’ technical alliance, has remained equally tight-lipped. But the 23-year-old at least knows he will either be at one of Foyt or Penske next year.
Malukas’ first season with Foyt has been impressive, sitting 10th in points after 15 rounds and outperforming highly-rated teammate Santino Ferrucci. But could he benefit from another year developing at Foyt before Penske call upon him? It may not be unwise given Power still appears close to, if not at, the peak of his powers.
This is not like decisions past where Penske have moved on from legends that had become waning forces.
In any case, the wait for clarity still goes on. And for the time being, a driver who is still one of IndyCar’s best does not know if he will be with Penske, elsewhere or anywhere in 2026. Even after taking the win in Portland, he is none-the-wiser as to what that success could do.
“I have no clue,” Power admitted. “I don’t know. Nothing else to say, man. I don’t know.”
With Power unsure what his win could mean, Jonathan Diuguid, newly-appointed team president at Penske, was not disclosing anything on the topic of his driver’s future.
Whether there is any more clarity internally at the team remains unclear too.
“Will’s future is about 30 minutes old from winning a race,” Diuguid deflected. “His future’s definitely bright. He did an amazing job today. Looking forward to the last two races of the season.
“I’m not going to discuss [his future] today. I’m going to focus on the win, the team performance. Winning can do a lot of things. It’s very positive for our programme. We’re going to reap all the benefits of that as we head to Milwaukee.”
Interestingly, Power did hint that his future may not end up being in the hands of Penske. There was a suggestion from him that it could end up being his choice.
How could that be? To speculate, there could be a situation where Power wants a multi-year deal but Penske, wanting to monitor Malukas’ progress and promote him in 2027, are only willing to hand their veteran driver a one-year contract.
“I don’t know, man,” said Power, not certain the decision had been put in someone else’s hands. “Maybe it’s my decision.”
No matter the situation, Power’s belief in himself is still unwavering - maybe a reason why he could feel the ball may be able to be in his court. Even as he reaches 45 years old at the start of next season, he feels he is not regressing in the slightest.
It is late in the driver market to not even be able to speak with other teams. But fresh off three wins last season, there is hard evidence to Power’s claims that he is, indeed, still at the top of his game and worth waiting for.
No driver had more wins - champion Palou only winning twice - or podiums than Power in 2024. His season featured a total of seven rostrum visits - split between his three victories and four runner-up results.
He remains the only non-Palou champion in the last five years after his title in 2022 and was in the fight until the finale last season, running Palou as close as anyone in recent years.
So will teams wait around for him? Power has long appeared to be the cork in the ‘silly season’ bottle, which suggests they may well do. Returning to Victory Lane in Portland only offers further proof of the level he remains at - both to Penske and possible other suitors.
Power himself holds unwavering confidence that he is worth holding out for.
“It’s probably good on both fronts,” Power acknowledged. “But I mean, I won three races last year. 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**king know.”
No doubt, a champion’s mentality from Power. It is to his credit that he maintains the same unrelenting front of belief after a brutal year at times for himself and Penske.
Mixed with some pace issues and flaws in execution, Penske as a whole have been dealt a bewildering amount of bad luck this year - hit with strife out of their control in what feels like every conceivable way across the course of the season.
Results this season have not always reflected Power’s suggestions that he is performing as well as ever. But hardly any of the errant results have actually been his doing and he has rallied to be sitting as the team’s top performer with two races remaining.
His season started disastrously with a Lap 1 crash in St. Petersburg - contact which he instigated but was largely an opening-lap racing incident. It was the first of four DNFs this year.
Power rebounded with four results inside the top six - including a pair of fifths and third-place result on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. But his Indy 500 wound up with an anonymous 14th place after the team-induced penalty which saw him start at the rear of the field when he could well have been in the pole fight.
Without issue in Detroit, he again impressed to finish fourth and was unfortunate to miss out on the podium. But in the next five races, he failed to finish three times through no fault of his own, owing to a tyre failure at Gateway - having started on pole - and engine failures at Mid-Ohio and in Iowa Race 2.
In the midst of that stretch, Road America was a struggle but the first Iowa race saw him return to the podium in third. Toronto then resulted in a tough 11th but Laguna Seca another solid top-10 result in seventh. Portland finally provided the result he longed for.
It got to a stage, after his bout of retirements through June and July, where knowing what was at stake this year, Power could only laugh at his misfortune.
But there was a more serious undertone of it not being lost on him how important results are in a year like this. Miffed at all of his out-of-control issues, a driver desperate to secure his return for 2026 was quietly crushed that a year so turbulent came in this year of all years.
“Every race, every session, it just matters,” Power disclosed ahead of last month’s Toronto weekend. “Can you believe the year I’m having in a contract year? Two engine failures in two race weekends. Can only smile about it.
“I’ve been in the sport a long time. I know these sort of things come round. It’s very typical of life that a bad year would play out when you’re trying to get a contract.
“But I love it here. I do. I really hope I’m back next year.”
Portland reaffirmed what Power is truly capable of in the form of a dominant, authoritative performance for his 45th career win.
Having started third, Power never looked back after staying out under the third caution of the early portion race to take the lead as Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward and Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist pitted ahead of him. At one stage, he even managed to pull a buffer of over 20 seconds to Palou.
It was a timely performance.
“It’s a very nice feeling,” he said. “Done it many times before… just funny that it comes at this time of the year. It’s going to be interesting, man. Obviously don’t know what the future holds.
“It was just very nice. I feel good for the whole team, I really do. Where we stand in the championship really isn’t indicative of our true potential. It’s just been a rough year. Feel good for Chevy as well; I think on that front they’ve had a pretty bad year. The whole team, I can tell they’re so happy and relieved that we’ve got a win on the table now.”
Power enjoyed being in a strategy situation where he was able to push all-out for the entire race rather than being confined into a fuel save. The call to stay out as the lead pair pitted was a masterstroke to allow him to stretch his legs in clean air out front.
The final stint was frustrating, with Power finding himself stuck behind the backmarker of Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson for an extended period. There also was one point where he ended up trapped behind Palou’s teammate Kyffin Simpson after finally dispatching Ericsson.
But while Lundgaard and Palou closed to within one second, Power kept his composure and managed to effectively fend off their charge without taking undue risks to pass the cars at the tail-end of the lead lap.
Come the closing laps, Power ultimately found himself lapping Malukas - maybe a crowning moment within his race-winning drive given their competition for the No.12 seat - who he had started alongside on Row 2. Remembering Simpson’s defence, he pleaded for his Foyt ally to return the favour and hold up those behind.
“I actually got blocked by Kyffin. He moved over, blocked me, squeezed me,” Power divulged. “Used a full push-to-pass to get around that guy. Certainly, the rule is he’s allowed to do that; he has a team car one back from me trying to win the race.
“When Malukas let me go: ‘Okay, tell him to hold them up if we’re going to play this game.’”
An ensuing scrap between Lundgaard and Palou behind meant Power was able to take the chequered flag a somewhat more comfortable second-and-a-half clear of the competition.
It was a popular victory, with teams up and down the paddock gathering to congratulate Power and his team. Both of Power’s teammates and their No.2 and No.3 crews were among those to embrace him.
“What’s happened to the team this year, probably the situation I’m in as well… it’s a tight-knit community, the IndyCar paddock. It really is,” Power said. “I have to say, I really have got to know a lot of people from every team in the paddock.
“I have so many friends in that paddock. Everyone looks out for each other even though we compete against each other. Nice feeling.”
The year has taken its toll for Penske at points. Key leadership figures lost their jobs after May’s controversies, which was bound to be unsettling. But Diuguid has dished out praise of how the team have shown dedication and belief through the adversity.
He admits it has taken changes in approach, both in the engineering office and on the shop floor, particularly in recent events since he took permanent presidency at the team. Penske are already reaping the rewards of that.
“It was just satisfying for the whole team, man, just driving down pit lane, seeing each crew so happy we finally got a bloody win,” Power said. “I was just happy for the group because it was just an unusual year for us. It is not from a lack of performance. That capability has been there every weekend. It’s just been one of those years. You have ‘em.
“I know people think after May that things changed. You’ve still got all those very good processes in place, great people. The talent is very deep. You’ve got people that step up and can totally do the job.
“Never count out Penske, man.”
At times in this year of adversity, Power has seemed the glue and an integral source of camaraderie. When Newgarden was downcast and concise in his answers after losing out on winning the first race at Iowa Speedway last month, it was Power - sitting beside him - who brought levity and drew a smile from his downbeat teammate.
If he is to be let go, Penske would be losing a leader, valued teammate and model professional, as well as one of the all-time great drivers.
How crucial Portland victory could be for Power’s future may only come to light further down the line. But he knows he is doing everything he can to prove he still belongs. And he believes unequivocally that he still has a place at the top of this sport.
At Penske? Time will tell.
But even in his mid-40s, winning is nothing out of the ordinary to an age-defying great of this sport. And this age-defying great is not ready to give up on his career any time soon.
“It was business as normal, honestly. I’ve been in that position so many times in my career. I guess I’m different to some people… I never stop working at it.
“It’s a passion. I love it. That’s why I’m still winning.”
