Power hopes to finish what he’s started in Australia

Will Power at Surfers

Australia native Will Power has won two pole positions at Surfers Paradise, but hasn’t finished better than 12th. As he prepares to return to Australia’s Gold Coast for the Nikon Indy 300 on Oct. 26, Power hopes he can finish what he’s started.

“I’ve been there now three times," said Power, who grew up in Toowoomba, Australia, about a two-hour drive from Surfers Paradise. “First year I got taken out by my teammate, second year I got taken out by Sebastien Bourdais, and last year I was sent out in front of a car, and that basically put us in the back. We had a damaged front wing, damaged suspension and later ended up being taken out by Katherine Legge.

“It’s a track where I’ve been very quick but just can’t break that streak of bad luck there, so I want to go there and finish that race in a good position."

Power should be able to build on a strong rookie campaign in the IndyCar Series. As one of nine drivers new to the series, Power drove the No. 8 Aussie Vineyards car to 12th in the championship, recording two top-five finishes. He ended the season with an eighth on the streets of Belle Isle and a fifth on the 1.5-mile oval at Chicagoland Speedway.

“It means a lot to me to be racing in Australia, especially considering it’s basically a hometown for me," Power said. “We have a house there on the Gold Coast. I’ve been going there my whole life, been hanging out there. It’s a great event for me. I just want to finish what I’ve started for the last two years."

The Inside Scoop
Will Power on:

What to eat while Down Under: “(In the United States), a lot of people don’t eat meat pies, but a meat pie is very nice with tomato sauce (ketchup). I think that’s something you’ve got to try – a Four’N’Twenty pie. Try that, and if you’re not sick after that, try a lemmington."

(A lemmington is little cubes or squares of sponge cake dipped in chocolate then rolled in coconut.)

Australia’s best export: “I’d say Will Power. There are people like Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman. I don’t want to say them, because I don’t know them. Aussie Vineyards AU wine."