First series title motivates Power for more

Will Power

Will Power, who turned 34 on March 1, begins defense of his Verizon IndyCar Series championship in the No. 1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 29. New challenges will arise, but the North Carolina resident will seek to retain the "don't over-think it" approach to each of the 16 races.

"When I look back at the season I was a contender in every single race," he said of 2014, which included three wins and 15 of 18 finishes in the top 10. "It wasn't a more dominant year than I've had in the past with winning and poles, but it was a consistently solid year. I won three and I was always there knocking on the door, capable of a top-five finish."

Though Power has reached a personal pinnacle – "something I worked really hard for for the last 15 years" – he's not content. There's additional career markers, including an Indianapolis 500 victory and more series titles, to attain. Reprising his 2014 race results might not be enough, he acknowledges, to repeat as champion.

"It's another year and I just think it's something in your head when you've done it, know you can do it," Power said. "When it happens, you realize it's not this impossible task so in that way you get a more comfortable feeling, more confidence and I guess more relaxed. But you have a very burning desire to win because you understand the feeling when you did and you want it again.

"I'm still motivated as all hell. I want to feel it all again. I want another championship, and another."