IndyCar šampion Will Power nagrađen za prvenstvo 2022

Just six days after Team Penske driver Will Power capped off his second career NTT IndyCar Series Championship, he was back at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

It was one last stop on his “Victory Lap” for winning the 2023 IndyCar Series Championship, the 17^th IndyCar National Championship for Team Penske. It was also the 42^nd championship for Team Penske in all forms of racing.

The Victory Lap Celebration was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum, which had been transformed into a banquet setting to honor the driver and his crew at Team Penske.

But it was also a chance for Penske Entertainment CEO Mark Miles and IndyCar President Jay Frye to talk about se several business moves that IndyCar is prepared to announce.

The first is the 2023 NTT IndyCar Series schedule.

It was August 7 in Nashville when both Miles and Penske Entertainment Vice President Michael Montri both confirmed to Forbes that the schedule would not include any subtractions or additions from the 2022 schedule.

That means such venues that had difficulty with attendance as Texas Motor Speedway on March 20, will get another chance in 2023. The 1.5-mile oval is the second-longest continuous venue on the current IndyCar schedule, hosting its first race in 1997.

I spoke with Miles less than two hours before Saturday night’s Victory Lap Ceremony at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“I think by the end of the month,” Miles told me in the lobby of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Administration Building before last Saturday’s IndyCar Victory Lap Ceremony at the IMS Museum. “We really want to be thoughtful of the TV windows, what is possible with NBC and what works with NBC as far as maximum audience and fewer conflicts on television and make sense for the events point of view so they can sell tickets.”

Miles also spoke to the invitation-only crowd that attended the Victory Lap Ceremony and banquet and hinted at some other big business news that could be announced soon.

“Maybe we’ll have some interesting news in terms of extensions with NTT before long,” Miles told the crowd, referring to series-sponsor NTT. “I also want to congratulate Linus Lundquist for his championship in Indy Lights. Before long, we might have a new name for that, but I’m not getting into that tonight.”

NTT agreed to an extension of its contract on May 20, 2021 and appears to already be working on another contract extension with IndyCar.

Cooper Tire is in its final year as sponsor of the Indy Lights Series. Next year, Firestone returns as the sole tire supplier to the developmental series.

Title sponsors for both series are vitally important and NTT seems very happy with its relationship with IndyCar.

While Team Penske was enjoying success on the race track with its three drivers winning nine of the 17 races on the schedule and finished 1, 2 and 4 in the final championship, Penske Entertainment enjoyed business success with its sponsors for the series.

“People Ready ‘Force for Good Challenge’ was going to be a huge marketing idea to combine results with charity and talk about the variety of the challenges in IndyCar,” Miles said. “Unfortunately, Josef Newgarden won the $1 million before anybody knew the challenge had started.

“Look for a little more drama next year.

“Enough can’t be said about Hy-Vee and how they created a huge spark and a huge new jewel in the IndyCar crown.

“Shell is a new partner for us and a big player in our aspirations for sustainability and they have already made a big impact.

“Gallagher is also new to us, and you will hear more about them helping us with our hospitality offerings. PIRTEK, The American Legion, Autograph and Ruoff were very important to us, also.

“Then, there are the extensions that are doubling down led by Gainbridge. I can’t exaggerate how great they are as a partner as well at TAG-Heuer, Dallara and maybe we’ll have some interesting news in terms of extensions with NTT before long.

“For us, it was a great season. We spent all day today working on what is next. We couldn’t be more excited about next year. I guarantee it will be bigger and better.”

From the competition side of IndyCar, President Jay Frye spoke of the success all of its teams enjoyed in 2022.

“The schedule will be out in the next couple of weeks,” Frye said. “This year, amazing paddock with an amazing group of people. With 35 drivers, we completed 87,000 laps. That was just in the race. It was 98,000 laps counting practice and qualifying, so huge credit goes to Chevrolet and Honda for the phenomenal effort they did.

“The championship started at St. Pete and for the 17^th season in a row, it came down to the final race of the season.

“Iowa was an amazing event. Those are our grassroots fans who get out there and early and spend all day.

“We’ve had two drivers finish every lap of the season and two of those happened this year – Will Power and Scott Dixon.

“It’s amazing what our drivers do. The collaboration within the teams is important.”

One of those drivers was seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, who competed in IndyCar for the second-straight year but completed his first full season competing in every race.

Johnson has yet to announce how many races he competes next season, or if he takes his “Reinventing the Wheel” tour to another form of racing, such as Endurance competition. Johnson wants to win the Rolex 24 at Daytona and also compete as part of NASCAR’s Garage 54 entry in next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“I can’t say enough positive things about him as a person, as a professional athlete, as a competitor, driver and champion,” Miles said of Johnson. “We’ll take what we can get. He has to make up his mind.

“He has been in motorsports for a very long time. More is better if it works for him.”

Power’s championship effort was sponsored once again by Verizon. The company completed its 13^th straight year as a Team Penske IndyCar sponsor.

“I would also like to thank Verizon for supporting this team for the last 217 straight races,” Team Penske President Tim Cindric said. “There hasn’t been a better IndyCar team sponsor over the last 13 years, and we are proud to represent them on our team.”

At 41, Power won his second championship by reinventing himself into a much calmer, more calculated driver. That paid off with one win and nine podium finishes in 2022.

By comparison, teammate Josef Newgarden led the series with five victories, but only six podium finishes.

That is the reason he finished 16 points behind Power in the final championship standings.

“What a year,” Power said as he accepted his accolades. “What a phenomenal year coming off one of my worst seasons personally. We came back with a vengeance.

“I want to thank Roger and Kathy Penske for everything they have done for me over the years. I wouldn’t be standing here and have the numbers I have without what Roger has done for me. I’m given a car every week that is capable of winning the pole, races, championships, and Indianapolis 500s. I’m so grateful for that.”

Power has proven himself to be a great driver during a highly competitive time of IndyCar racing. He has 41 wins to place him fifth on the all-time IndyCar victory list, a victory in the 2018 Indianapolis 500, two championships and a record 68 career poles.

He has done it in an era where he had to defeat Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon, Helio Castroneves, Dan Wheldon and Josef Newgarden – all highly-successful drivers in their careers.

“No question he’s in the top tier,” Miles said. “I love the guy. He is so fun to be around, and I think for fans, they get it. Which Will are they going to get today when they tune in?

“It was remarkable to see him adjust his personality in the cockpit this year to be more patient. But he’s had a very long, distinguished career and he is fast. Ultimately, that’s what it is all about.

“We are proud of him, he’s a great champion and it’s great to know that he is going to be around for a long time.

“It’s been very strong competition throughout his career and that is why by every measure he is on the top tier of this sport in every respect.”

Power believes with the rejuvenation of all forms of open-wheel racing, more should be done on the business side to help push IndyCar even further upward.

“This series is growing,” Power said. “With open wheel racing now so popular because of Formula One, it’s really our time to push and put money behind it and go now and take IndyCar to another level because we have the best racing product in the world.”