For the second time in his career, Will Power will be contesting a season in IndyCar as the reigning series champion.
He is coming off a season that saw him claim the overall record for poles and finish in the top five positions with regularity.
Power’s goal for 2023 is, of course, to win another championship, and he’s letting his calm demeanor lead the way once again.
That approach begins this week with the two-day test session at The Thermal Club, which is the unofficial start of preseason.
“[Another championship] is the goal,” said Power. “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. Yeah, it’s a good space to be in.”
Last season, Power gave off an air of calmness throughout the entire year, keeping his emotions down way lower than in the past.
From the outside it appeared that he wasn’t as passionate about his sport anymore, but that calm approach paid dividends at each and every race.
The plan for the 41-year-old is to approach this season the exact same way, and let his skills do the talking on the track rather than being aggressive right out of the gates.
Power will keep the #12 on his Team Penske Chevy this season as well, possibly as a way to help continue with the same mentality that earned him his second championship last season.
“It’s just about extracting the most out of every situation,” Power continued. “There’s never like I need to be more aggressive. The situation is always different. They’re always different and require a different approach. You’ve just got to get good at reading that.
“It hasn’t really — honestly, I haven’t even thought about the championship. I haven’t even — I almost had to be reminded that I won the championship. Kind of just, I did it, and I know it’s just that I’m older now and moving on quickly and thinking about what’s next.
“I haven’t been on a high off-season or anything like that, I just kind of stayed even.”
