CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Will Power, the consummate company man who won two IndyCar titles and the Indianapolis 500 for Roger Penske, will not return to Team Penske for an 18th season.
The long-expected announcement was finally made Tuesday, two days after the season finale, and nearly a year after speculation began that Power would not be renewed when his contract expired as the team eyed a younger driver. Power turns 45 at the start of next season.
As we sat down to talk about our future together, Will felt that it was time for him to make a change beginning with next season, Penske said in a statement. He has been an outstanding driver and teammate for our organization. His results speak for themselves, and we wish him the very best in the next phase of his career.
As the season dragged on without any movement from Penske, Powers departure became more and more obvious. He showed up at the season-opener in March on his birthday weekend facing questions about the possibility of 23-year-old David Malukas replacing him at the end of the year. The speculation was never silenced by Team Penske, but Malukas was not confirmed as Powers replacement Tuesday.
After Sundays season finale at Nashville Superspeedway, Power was both reflective and grateful for the time hed had at Penske, where he won 42 races, two championships, the Indy 500 and became IndyCars all-time pole-winner with 71.
Its been the honor of my life to drive for Roger and the Penske organization, Power said. We have accomplished so much together, and I will always be grateful for my time with the team and my teammates who have supported me along the way. After much consideration, I felt like a change for me was the right move at this time.
Power, with 45 career victories, ranks fourth on the all-time IndyCar wins list behind A.J. Foyt (67), Scott Dixon (59) and Mario Andretti (52). He passed Andretti as the greatest qualifier in series history.
This season, he proved to be the best of the trio of Penske drivers he was most consistent, his win at Portland was the first of the season for Penske and hes shown despite his age hes still among the most competitive on the grid. Power was leading at Nashville and had positioned himself for the win until a mistake in the pits took him out of contention.
He told his engineer on pit lane after the race he wasnt returning in 2026 in a conversation that had both engineer David Faustino and Powers wife, Liz, in tears. Power has won at least one race every season except 2023 the year his wife nearly died from a staph infection.
Its not clear where Power will go, but the softest landing spot on the grid would be if Colton Herta leaves IndyCar for F2, the Formula 1 feeder system, in an effort to achieve the super license Herta needs to compete for the new Cadillac team in the global series.
That would open a seat at Andretti Global and new owner Dan Towriss, who also owns the Cadillac F1 team, a NASCAR team, and multiple other organizations in various motorsports series, could use a veteran like Power as he attempts to bring the IndyCar program back to the top of the series.
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AP auto racing:
美联社北卡罗来纳州夏洛特电 —— 为罗杰·潘世奇赢得两次印地赛车总冠军及印第安纳波利斯500大赛的功勋车手威尔·鲍尔（Will Power），将不会第18次回归潘世奇车队。
在赛季收官战结束两天后，这支车队终于在周二宣布了外界期待已久的决定——由于车队倾向于启用更年轻的车手，鲍尔（Power）的合同到期后将不再续约，而这一猜测已持续近一年。鲍尔将在下赛季开始时年满45岁。
潘世奇在一份声明中表示："当我们坐下来讨论未来合作时，威尔认为从下个赛季开始是他做出改变的时机。他始终是我们团队中杰出的车手和队友，成绩有目共睹。我们衷心祝愿他在职业生涯的新阶段一切顺利。"
随着赛季推进而潘世奇车队毫无动作，鲍尔的离队迹象愈发明显。他在三月的赛季揭幕战亮相时（恰逢生日周末），便面临关于23岁小将戴维·马鲁卡斯可能年底接替其位置的追问。尽管潘世奇车队始终未平息这一传闻，但本周二马鲁卡斯并未被官宣为鲍尔的继任者。
在纳什维尔超级赛道举行的周日赛季收官战后，鲍尔（Power）回顾并感恩他在潘世奇车队（Penske）的时光——期间他赢得42场胜利、两次总冠军、一次印第安纳波利斯500大赛冠军，并以71次杆位成为印地赛车史上最佳排位赛选手。
鲍尔（Power）表示："能为罗杰（Roger）和潘世奇车队效力是我一生的荣耀。我们共同取得了诸多成就，我将永远感激与车队共度的时光，以及一路上支持我的队友们。经过深思熟虑，我认为现阶段做出改变是正确的选择。"
鲍尔（Power）职业生涯共获得45场胜利，在印地赛车历史胜场数排行榜上位列第四，仅次于A.J.福伊特（67胜）、斯科特·迪克森（59胜）和马里奥·安德烈蒂（52胜）。他同时超越安德烈蒂，成为该赛事历史上最伟大的排位赛选手。
本赛季，他证明了自己是潘世奇车队三位车手中最出色的一位——表现最为稳定，在波特兰站的胜利为潘世奇车队赢得了赛季首冠。尽管年岁渐长，他依然展现出自己是赛道上最具竞争力的车手之一。在纳什维尔站，鲍尔一度领先并有望夺冠，却因维修站的一次失误与胜利失之交臂。
赛后，他在维修区告诉工程师大卫·福斯蒂诺，自己将不会在2026年回归。这番谈话让福斯蒂诺和鲍尔的妻子莉兹都潸然泪下。除了2023赛季——那年他的妻子因葡萄球菌感染险些丧命——鲍尔每个赛季都至少赢得过一场比赛。
目前尚不清楚鲍威尔（Power）将何去何从，但最理想的安排可能是科尔顿·赫塔（Colton Herta）离开印地赛车转战F2——这是F1的晋级通道——以获取超级驾照，从而满足他为全球赛事中新成立的凯迪拉克车队效力的资格要求。
这将为安德雷蒂全球车队腾出一个席位。新任老板丹·托里斯（Dan Towriss）——他还拥有凯迪拉克F1车队、一支纳斯卡车队以及多个其他赛车运动系列赛的组织——在试图让印地赛车项目重回巅峰之际，正需要像鲍尔这样的资深车手。
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