"He cares for the drivers to win it": When Will Power recalled his first moment with Roger Penske after clinching Indy 500

"I feel like collapsing. I want to cry," said Will Power after taking his sole Indy 500 victory in 2018. The Team Penske driver was overwhelmed with emotion and passionately celebrated after driving his No. 12 Chevy in the victory lane. He handed team owner Roger Penske, an IndyCar and NASCAR Hall of Famer, his 17th victory at the "Greatest Spectacle of Racing" and their first interaction after it was a moment to remember for Power.

In 2023, Power sat down for an interview with Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug Boles to speak about various career milestones and missed opportunities. When Boles asked the two-time champ if he remembered his first conversation with Roger Penske after the Indy 500 win, he replied:

"It was a good moment, you know, because Roger really wanted me to win that race. He actually really cares for the driver to win it. It's not just for him. He's very excited for someone that hadn't won it. I've seen that with other drivers, when (Joey) Logano (Team Penske's NASCAR driver) won a championship, how happy he (Roger) was for him. It was a very, very nice exchange." [3:25]

Will Power's Indy 500 victory was his 34th IndyCar win. He was in fourth position during the final restart with seven laps to go. Within two laps, he overtook Oriol Servia for third position and inherited the lead when leaders Stefan Wilson and Jack Harvey pitted for fuel.

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Roger Penske's words of respect after the "best" driver Will Power's Indy 500 victory

Roger Penske at the 102nd Running of the Indianapolis 500 - Carb Day - Source: Getty

Will Power was in the zone at the 102nd running of the Indy 500. Starting third on the grid, he upset Ed Carpenter, who started on pole and led 62 laps, to win the race by 3.1589 seconds. After the win, he also made headway in the championship standings, going up six places to topple leader Josef Newgarden and push him to third.

Roger Penske hailed Power as the best driver in the race and also commended the entire team for ending his star driver's 10-year wait to win the Indy 500.

"To see what Will has been able [to do], 10 years with his engineer Dave Faustino… he's won many road races, all sorts of poles. He won this race today because he was the best," Penske said (via Motorsport). "There's no question about the speed at the end, his out laps. The pit crew I take my hat off to – Jon [Bouslog, Power’s strategist], and Tim Cindric [team president] because we had four great cars. That's what you have to have here. You have to have four bullets, three bullets, whatever it takes."

Four years later, Will Power went on to win his second IndyCar championship. At 43, the Aussie is the second-oldest driver on the current grid after Scott Dixon and yet continues to be at the top of his game. In 2024, he finished fourth in the standings with three wins and 498 points.