Power’s contract status with Team Penske dominating INDYCAR’s silly season
Will Power – Snap-On Milwaukee Mile 250 – Photo by Paul Hurley
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio
Barring “Breaking News” from The Milwaukee Mile, saving Team Penske from the embarrassment of a winless INDYCAR season has not publicly moved the needle in Will Power’s bid for a new contract.
Will Power – Snap-On Milwaukee Mile 250 – Photo by Joe Skibinski
Team Penske’s longest-tenured driver, Power staked his claim for another contract with owner Roger S. Penske by winning the BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland presented by askROI on Aug. 10. “A Team Penske-type day, man,” Power said during a post-race presser in Oregon spiced with comments ranging from confidence to defiance. “When we’re put in the position, we can win. It’s obviously been a rough year on many fronts. Yeah, very nice to get a win.”
Power delivered Team Penske its first victory of 2025 _ allowing the legendary organization to avoid its first winless campaign since 1999. Power, whose contract with “The Captain” will expire at season’s end, notched the 45th victory of his stellar career on PIR’s 1.964-mile/12-turn natural-terrain circuit. A 44-year-old native of Australia, Power finished 1.5388-seconds ahead of NTT P1 Award-winner Christian Lundgaard of Denmark in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
Will Power – Snap-On Milwaukee Mile 250 – Photo by Paul Hurley
“It’s what we expect at that team,” said Power, the NTT IndyCar Series champion in 2014 and 2022. “To me it was business as normal, honestly. I’ve been in that position so many times in my career. Like I said, I’m driving the best I ever have. Simple as that. I’m not slowing down. I’m not slower, I am faster. My toolbox is still big as far as understanding the cars, race craft, all that.
“Yeah, that’s me. 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.”
Will Power – Snap-On Milwaukee Mile 250 – Photo by Chris Owens
Sixth in a driver’s championship clinched for a fourth time by Spaniard Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing, Power has emerged as Penske’s most productive driver during a chaotic 2025 season. Teammates Josef Newgarden _ another two-time series champ but 18th in the current standings _ and native New Zealander Scott McLaughlin (11th) have uncharacteristically scuffled for results during the first 15 events.
“I was happy for everyone, man,” said Power, who joined Team Penske fulltime in 2010. “Just driving down pit lane, seeing each crew so happy we finally got a bloody win. Like both teammates came up, all the engineers, all the crews came up. I think 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.
Will Power – Snap-On Milwaukee Mile 250 – Photo by Joe Skibinski
“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. I feel like to have done this for this long and know that many good people. Everyone looks out for each other even though we compete against each other.
“Nice feeling.”
That said, Power firmly believes his victory at Portland was enough to prove to Mr. Penske or rival team executives that he’s worthy of a fulltime seat in 2026.
“It’s probably good on both fronts,” said Power, the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion. “But yeah, 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 fucking know.
Will Power – Snap-On Milwaukee Mile 250 – Photo by Joe Skibinski
“Yeah, man, I go into every weekend, I feel like we have a chance to win as a team and as a driver. If everything goes right, we’ll be in the hunt. That goes for the last two races, as well, yeah.”
Next up is today’s Snap-on Milwaukee Mile 250 in West Allis, Wis., (2 p.m. EDT, FOX, FOX One, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network) followed by the season-finale at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tenn., on Aug. 31.
Power qualified sixth Saturday on the famed Midwest oval at 160.819 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.
Will Power – Snap-On Milwaukee Mile 250 – Photo by Joe Skibinski
Power is known to have visited with series rival Andretti Global, with photos of him at the Honda-powered team posted on social media. However, neither Michael Andretti nor Power have confirmed such a move for 2026. Andretti Global has a pair of American drivers in the top-10 in points, with rising star Kyle Kirkwood _ a three-time race winner this season _ fifth and Colton Herta eighth. Sweden’s Marcus Ericsson, the 2022 Indianapolis 500 champion with Chip Ganassi Racing, is 20th.
“Yeah, yeah, obviously don’t know what the future holds,” Power said. “Been in the top-six the last (four) races, in qualifying. 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. I think the whole team, I can tell they’re so very sort of happy and relieved that we’ve got a win on the table now.”
David Malukas – Snap-On Milwaukee Mile 250 – Photo by Paul Hurley
Rising star David Malukas of Waller, Texas-based A.J. Foyt Racing _ which shares technical information with Team Penske _ is widely rumored as the most likely candidate to replace Power if Penske decides to go that route. Malukas, a 23-year-old native of Chicago, is 10th in the current standings.
Recall that Team Penske’s perceived perfect world was turned upside down on Wednesday, May 21. That’s when Penske fired three prominent members of management in the wake of a technical rules violation that developed during qualifying for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 the previous weekend.
Team owner Roger Penske. Photo courtesy of the NTT IndyCar Series.
Penske, 88, dismissed longtime Team President Tim Cindric, INDYCAR Managing Director Ron Ruzewski and INDYCAR General Manager Kyle Moyer after Power’s No. 12 Chevy and Newgarden’s No. 2 entry for “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” were found in violation of INDYCAR rules.
Jonathan Diuguid, new president at Team Penske, said the turmoil of the Month of May “seems quite a long time ago. Will did an amazing job (at PIR). I think the team’s performed well at a bunch of races. It just hasn’t all come together. (At PIR) it did. Really proud of the team. The same people are the same ones that have won an average of seven races for the past three seasons. We showed we can do it. Rewarding to finally end up in Victory Lane.”
Asked specifically about Power’s future at Team Penske, Diuguid said, “His future’s definitely bright. Looking forward to the last two races of the season.
“It’s obviously rewarding to be in a leadership position of the team. Like Will has mentioned a bunch of times, it’s not just myself. It’s many others that have put us here. With the turbulence the team has experienced in the past months, to have the dedication and support of all the team members that we have, that is rewarding to me, that they believe in the team like Will mentioned many times, believe in our processes, in what we do, believe in how we approach race weekends.
“I think when you’re not winning races, you have to look in the mirror first. We can talk about yellows or crashes or other things that put us out of contention, but we got to look in the mirror first. I can definitely say over the past three or four events, the group, both the engineering office and the shop floor, have changed how we approach some things. I think that’s brought performance over the past couple events specifically and hopefully it will for the last two.”
Power insisted all three Penske entries are capable of winning every weekend. “It’s not from a lack of performance,” Power said. “It’s just been one of those years. You have ’em. You have ’em.
“It’s a great group. It’s a great group. I know people think after May that things changed. You still got all those very good processes in place, great people. The talent is very deep there. You got people that step up and can totally do the job. Yeah, never count out Penske, man.”
