By Dave Lewandowski
indy500.com
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon welcomes Will Power to the IZOD IndyCar Series for the full complement of 2010 races. He just doesn't welcome the additional championship competition.
Power, who competed in six races with Penske Racing this past season, was confirmed Nov. 19 as a full-season entry for the team in the No. 12 Verizon Wireless Honda-powered Dallara. He'll again join forces with Team Penske teammates Helio Castroneves, a three-time Indianapolis 500 winner, and Ryan Briscoe, who placed third in the 2009 series championship.
"He was very fast, and who knows what the guy could do with a full season and starting off the right way with all the preseason testing," said Dixon, who followed up his 2008 series title with a runner-up finish in the standings to teammate Dario Franchitti. "He's obviously very talented and showed it with the short time he was in last year and the year before (with KV Racing Technology). Last year, the races he did helped out the team and made it tougher for us."
Power, who joined Penske Racing last season - initially filling in for Castroneves during preseason testing and at the season-opening race in St. Petersburg, Fla. - doesn't plan to fall short of Dixon's assessment.
"I have very good equipment, and the way I look at it we have probably the strongest driver lineup in the paddock," said Power, who will be reunited with his engineer from 2007-08, Dave Faustino. "We have three very good engineers and crews, so I expect to be very competitive. I think the best mindset is what I had this year. I didn't have to be concerned about points, so it was all about getting a good result every race. I think that's the way I need to approach the championship."
When Castroneves returned to the No. 3 Team Penske car at Long Beach, Power switched to the No. 12 Verizon Wireless car. No worries: He won the pole position and finished second in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
He finished fifth in the Indianapolis 500 and went on to win his first IndyCar Series race in July at Edmonton. Power was scheduled to add the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but he suffered a season-ending back injury during a practice session Aug. 22 at Infineon Raceway. He's well on his way to a complete recovery.
"It's to a point where in a couple of weeks I'd be able to get back in a car though I have to get fit enough to drive a car, which I don't think I'll be up to full fitness until January," Power said. "I've been swimming and rowing, lots of ab work and weights. Probably I haven't done as much as I usually do is cardio, so that's what I need to spend the month doing and get back to good fitness."
Much like the end of the 2008 season, when Aussie Vineyards pulled out as primary sponsor of his KV Racing Technology car, Power was in a black hole. Penske Racing President Tim Cindric and team owner Roger Penske publicly endorsed Power to remain with the open-wheel racing organization pending proper funding.
2010 INDY 500 Car With Jets Indigo Tee.
2010 Indianapoli 500 Car With Jets Indigo Tee, 2-Sided.
"It's always a little stressful waiting on an answer about what you're going to be doing next year, but it all came together fine, and here I am ready to drive for Penske for a full season," he said. "It's amazing. I'm going to work hard at this because you don't many chances like this in your lifetime, and this is a fantastic one for me."
Cindric expanded from his perspective: "The results speak for themselves last year. We're excited to be able to give him the opportunity to come on full time, because he's done an excellent job in a very difficult situation. It was great that Verizon was able to support us going forward, and we were in a position to be able to keep Will and that Will continued to on believe that this is the place to be, even though he kind of had to wait this out a little bit."
Power, 28, of Toowoomba, Australia, moved to the United States in 2005 to compete in the Champ Car World Series. He earned Rookie of the Year honors in 2006 and claimed three wins and six pole positions in two-plus seasons. After joining the IndyCar Series in 2008 with KV Racing Technology, he earned his first series pole in front of his home crowd at Surfers Paradise, Australia.
It will be the first time since the mid-90s that Penske Racing will field three full‑time cars in the Indy cars (Paul Tracy, Emerson Fittipaldi and Al Unser Jr.).
"It's not every day that you have an opportunity like we have to put three proper programs together with your three very capable drivers," Cindric said. "All the moons aligned for us, and we feel obviously that this is a great opportunity for all of us."
The announcement is a key element of a multi-year program between Penske Racing and Verizon Wireless that began in 2009. The 2010 Verizon Championship Racing platform will include the IndyCar Series with Power, Castroneves and Briscoe and NASCAR competition with Brad Keselowski and Justin Allgaier.
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