PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – Now that his wife, Liz, is recovering from a potentially serious health issue, two-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Will Power of Team Penske is ready to climb back into the famed No. 12 Verizon IndyCar.
When he straps himself into the cockpit Thursday morning at The Thermal Club for the first day of IndyCar Spring training, it will be the first time he’s been in a race car since he claimed the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series title at WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca in September.
The 2018 Indianapolis 500 winner also holds the record for most IndyCar poles with 68.
Power is prepared to have another great season in 2023.
“Of course, that’s the goal,” Power said Wednesday during the second day of IndyCar Content Day at the Palm Springs Convention Center. “It’s a similar approach, but every season has its flow. Sometimes — it’s never the same.
“Sometimes you get a runaway guy, and you must win races rather than be consistent. It just depends how it rolls, and you’ve got to adjust accordingly.”
Although he has not been in an Indy car for any testing during the offseason, the Toowoomba, Australia native who lives with his family on Lake Norman in North Carolina has stayed sharp. He has a vigorous workout regimen.
Power also utilizes the General Motors Simulator in nearby Huntersville, North Carolina.
“There’s no substitute for being in the real car,” Power said. “But everyone is in the same boat, and you’ve got to make the most of these very limited days.”
Power also keeps his racing skills fine-tuned by driving his high-powered go-kart at Go Pro Motorplex in Mooresville, North Carolina – just a few miles away from Team Penske’s shop.
“I love go-karting,” Power said. “It’s a lot of fun. It’s very intense, very competitive. Also, that’s somewhere you can get some race fitness for sure because you’ve got some G-forces. The simulator you get obviously the steering so you can work on your arms, but you get neck and whole body in the go-kart. I just love karting. I have since I was a kid. I do it for fun, and it keeps me sharp.
“I see a lot of NASCAR guys out there. I know Scott McLaughlin has got a kart. A lot of the Penske mechanics go there. A lot of mechanics from all sorts of teams go there, so you meet a lot of people. It’s a cool track, good facility.”
Power suffered broken ribs from a karting crash in Las Vegas during the offseason but admitted that he continued his workout schedule and karting as he recovered from the injury.
Motorsports is on the short list of potential sports that may be added to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. It would likely be with electric-powered karts.
Power loves that idea.
“I think that would be fantastic for the sport,” he said. “It would be fantastic if we had motorsport at the Olympics, especially the grass-roots karting scene, which is very big already. But it’s not very well-known in general in the public that you can get paid to race go-karts.
“But that’s where it all starts. I hope that that happens. I think that would be amazing for our sport.
“It would be just — it would be a good addition to the Olympics.”
As Power was recovering from broken ribs, his wife, Liz, got very sick and had to have surgery. In order to tend to his ailing wife, Power withdrew from a ride in last weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona IMSA Sports Car race.
Power gave an update on her status.
“Obviously, the last few weeks have been tough, staying in hospitals and working through the health issues that my wife has,” he said. “That’s life. It could always be worse. She’s improving, and hopefully in the next four or five weeks we can get to a point where it feels safe.
“She’s much better than two weeks ago, but I think we’ll know for sure in five weeks whether her blood stays sterile. She has improved significantly. She was in bad shape a couple weeks ago.”
Power’s offseason has included some unexpected challenges, but the 41-year-old IndyCar star believes he is ready to have another outstanding season.
“That’s the goal,” Power said. “The confidence, I just think the older you get, the more comfortable you are with the situation. You just naturally gain confidence. You know your strengths. You know your weaknesses. You know how to extract the most out of yourself. That’s kind of what I’ve been doing.
“I would say I don’t have much pressure at this time in my career, so it’s all about the craft and getting the most out of it.
“It’s a good space to be in.”