Will Power names IndyCar's greatest era: "It blows my mind, those cars"

Will Power has always been at the center of the premier open-wheel racing action in the US. His time in Champ Car was cut short by the series' merger with the Indy Racing League (IRL) in 2008. He recalled how the 2007 Champ Car was IndyCar's greatest era.

The Aussie driver made his debut in the American racing scene in 2006. He was named the Rookie of the Year for his performances, as he quickly made his way up the grid.

Champ Car got a new chassis from Panoz for the 2007 season and was combined with a 2.65L turbocharged V8 engine giving approximately a 1:1 power-to-weight ratio (in race trim). Reminiscing about these cars on the Apex Hunters podcast, Will Power stated how 2007 was the best era for IndyCar in terms of performance:

"I tell you man, the Champ car was an absolute beast. I reckon it was the best power-to-weight-to-tire ratio for that IndyCar ever had. The [Panoz] DPO1 [chassis] that '07 car, which I actually recently drove and it just still, it just blows my mind. Those cars, a lot of horsepower. It was actually very disappointing when it was great that the series merged the year after they introduced that car, but it was disappointing we had to go to what the IRL car was which wasn't quite as good."

Will Power has raced in IndyCar for two decades and is a free agent for the 2026 driver market.

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Team Penske opens up on Will Power's future with the team

Will Power at the NTT IndyCar Series GMR Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Will Power's current contract with Team Penske will run till the end of the 2025 season. While he has expressed his desire to continue the Mooresville-based team, the two parties are yet to reach the negotiation table as of now.

Moreover, Team Penske's President Tim Cindric shared his thoughts on the contract situation with the 43-year-old and said, via IndyStar:

"There’s no reason we would want anybody else but Will [Power] in the car. (Will’s) approaching the twilight of his career, and if you had asked me in 2021, I would’ve said he was approaching the end of his career, and then he goes and wins the championship (in 2022). I feel like he has the potential to do it again.

"For us, we’ll get through May, and then we’ll start to focus on what next year will be like. The fact is, Will’s close to the twilight of his career, and there becomes a bigger emphasis on ‘How long-term do you go?’ or ‘How do you approach it?’ But I think we’ll go business as usual until that time."

The 2025 season will break off at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 2.