Indy 500 champion Will Power would love to try NASCAR

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 28: Will Power of Australia, driver of the #12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 28: Will Power of Australia, driver of the #12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /
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Newly crowned Indy 500 champion Will Power stated that he would love to compete in a NASCAR oval race at some point in his career.

Team Penske’s Will Power, the 2014 IndyCar champion and newly crowned champion of the Indianapolis 500 who competes full-time in IndyCar, stated that he would love to compete in a NASCAR oval race.

For the longest time in his IndyCar career, Power simply could not win on an oval. His first 11 victories in the series all came in road or street course races, and his first win in an oval race came in a half-distance oval race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Only half of the regular point totals were awarded to the drivers who competed in that race.

Power won the Mario Andretti Road Course Trophy as the top driver in road and street course races in the series in the 2010 season, the 2011 season and the 2012 season. However, due to his struggles on oval tracks, he failed to win any of those three championships.

In fact, Power had the championship lead in each of those three seasons heading into the season finales of those three seasons. All three of those season finales were held on oval tracks. He struggled and/or crashed in all three of those races, and as a result, all three of those championships slipped away from him.

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Power’s first victory in a full-distance oval race came in the 2013 race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, which was, ironically, the 2013 season finale. That win was the 21st victory of his IndyCar career.

Since then, he has racked up 13 more victories. Of those 13 victories, five of them have come on oval tracks. He won the race at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin in 2014, he won the races at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania in 2016 and 2017, he won the race at Texas Motor Speedway in 2017, and, of course, he just won the Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana.

Power has now won the last three IndyCar superspeedway races that have been held. In fact, it has been over one full year since a driver not named Will Power has won an IndyCar superspeedway race. Takuma Sato is the most recent winner of an IndyCar superspeedway race not named Will Power, as he won last year’s Indy 500.

Given the fact that he has had so much success in oval races lately, especially since he struggled in them early on in his career, Power discussed potentially driving in a NASCAR oval race in the future when he talked on the latest PodcastOne Sports Now weekly show. Here is what he had to say about the matter, according to The Associated Press.

"“I’d love to race an oval in NASCAR, that would be fun.”"

However, in regard to actually getting the opportunity to compete in a NASCAR oval races, Power also stated the following on that show, according to The Associated Press.

"“I see how long it takes to get good at your craft…Those guys are absolutely top notch and it would be tough to turn up and be competitive.”"

Next: Top 10 Indianapolis 500 drivers of all-time

Would you like to see newly crowned Indianapolis 500 champion Will Power drive in a NASCAR oval race in the near future? Do you believe that it will happen?