Commentary
IndyCar Milwaukee
Power shows oval prowess in latest title run
Will Power recalls his first impression of the Milwaukee Mile - "a road course with no right turns" - when he arrived for the June 2006 Champ Car race.
Edited: Aug 18, 2014, 8:59 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The relatively flat oval was as foreign as cheese curds to Power, who was schooled in road racing in his native Australia and England early in his career. He qualified a respectable fifth and finished 11th in the 197-lap race won by Sebastien Bourdais.
Power, the '06 Champ Car World Series Rookie of the Year, didn't compete on another oval until 2008, and said his oval race results were central to his championship hopes being dashed in 2010, '11 and '12 Verizon IndyCar Series seasons.
It is also why he resolved to become more proficient on ovals.
In past years the ovals have kind of been my (downfall).
Will Power
Power won the 2013 season finale at Auto Club Speedway - a grueling 500-miler that he called one of his most satisfying victories - and added three other top-10 finishes in five oval races.
On Aug. 17, a dominating victory in the ABC Supply Wisconsin 250 at Milwaukee IndyFest completed the cycle for the North Carolina resident. Power's 24th career win, which tied Bobby Rahal and Ralph DePalma for 16th on the all-time list, gave him one on a short oval, superspeedway and speedway (2011 Texas Motor Speedway in 114-lap race).
"In past years the ovals have kind of been my (downfall). Last year ovals were very strong for me, this year even stronger," Power said. "I have the whole package (now); it's just a matter of executing on weekends. There's no doubt in your mind you can do it. That gives me confidence.
"I've been in this situation before. The difference is that I don't have a weakness anymore. I felt 2007 was a year where I felt I was like at my absolute optimum (three wins, five poles). I can really say this year I feel as though now I am just a better all-around driver."
That bodes well for the driver of the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car, who is the championship front-runner by 39 points over teammate Helio Castroneves with two races left. Power won at both venues in 2013.
Six drivers remain eligible for the title, with 150 base points (plus bonus points) available at the Sonoma Raceway road course on Aug. 24 and Auto Club Speedway 2-mile oval on Aug. 30.
"This is the first year I can say to myself that I'm a better driver. It's funny, you drive with very low emotion. Just kind of like a computer. That's how I seem to find myself a bit more these days. I guess it just comes with age."
INDYCAR
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Power expands championship lead with Milwaukee win
Next article IndyCar's latest merger
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Helio Castroneves
Team Penske and Chevrolet announce multi-year extension of IndyCar partnership
IndyCar
IndyCar 1 mo
Team Penske and Chevrolet announce multi-year extension of IndyCar partnership
Where will Kevin Magnussen rank among the Project 91 NASCAR drivers?
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
San Diego
4 mo
Where will Kevin Magnussen rank among the Project 91 NASCAR drivers?
The five closest Indy 500 finishes in history
IndyCar
IndyCar
110th Running of the Indianapolis 500
5 mo
The five closest Indy 500 finishes in history
More from
Team Penske
Ryan Blaney to skip events after suffering fall 'requiring medical attention'
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
3 d
Ryan Blaney to skip events after suffering fall 'requiring medical attention'
Who won the teammate battles of NASCAR Cup 2026?
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
3 d
Who won the teammate battles of NASCAR Cup 2026?
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
IndyCar
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
Latest news
Chase Elliott's car chief leaves Hendrick for NASCAR Truck crew chief role
NASCAR Truck
NSTR NASCAR Truck
Homestead
1 min
Chase Elliott's car chief leaves Hendrick for NASCAR Truck crew chief role
“I was getting beat up” – How Daniel Ricciardo burned out on ‘humiliating’ F1 return
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 4 h
“I was getting beat up” – How Daniel Ricciardo burned out on ‘humiliating’ F1 return
Myers Riley Motorsports adds Andretti alongside returning Fraga for 2027 IMSA GTD campaign
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 4 h
Myers Riley Motorsports adds Andretti alongside returning Fraga for 2027 IMSA GTD campaign
Feature
Discover prime content
How Spanish engineering and Alex Palou brought IndyCar to Barcelona
Feature
IndyCar
Feature
IndyCar 15 d
By Joey Barnes
How Spanish engineering and Alex Palou brought IndyCar to Barcelona
Inside AJ Foyt Racing’s transition: Hauger’s arrival, Ferrucci’s future, and the Pierson waiting game
Feature
IndyCar
Feature
IndyCar 1 mo
By Joey Barnes
Inside AJ Foyt Racing’s transition: Hauger’s arrival, Ferrucci’s future, and the Pierson waiting game
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
IndyCar
By Joey Barnes
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe