Hired during the offseason as insurance while the team awaited the outcome of Helio Castroneves’ federal tax evasion trial, Will Power finished sixth in the season opener at St. Petersburg, Fla., and second at Long Beach, where Castroneves returned after being cleared.
Since then, Power has been sidelined for five of the past six races in the potentially awkard position of being a driver with a contract but not a cockpit.
“It’s been tough,” said Power, who finished fifth in the Indianapolis 500. “I’ve never watched a series that I’m competing in. But there was no way I’d pass up an opportunity to be at Penske even (knowing) at the time I could possibly not race at all. It didn’t take me but a second to say yes.”
His loyalty will be rewarded this weekend on the streets of Toronto, where he returns as defending champion for the first of five races that Penske will field a third Dallara-Honda for Power in the second half of the IndyCar Series’ 17-race season.
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Penske Racing president Tim Cindric says the team wanted “to repay (Power) for the sacrifices he made.” The 2006 Champ Car rookie of the year still attended every event in which he didn’t drive. USA Today
Q:You won at Toronto in the last CART race there in 2007. You like the track?
Power:That was one of my better wins. I started seventh and had to drive real hard. I like the street circuit. It’s tough on setup, and it’s a challenge to find the right balance. But there are a lot of places to pass.
Q:Your chances Sunday?
Power: I’m in a beautiful yellow car, and I want to be very competitive. I want to qualify well, win the race, but I don’t want to make any mistakes. I haven’t raced for a while and you lose a little bit of form in between. It will be an interesting weekend. Detroit Free Press
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