Speaking on the Rusty’s Garage podcast, Power explained that he met with Chip Ganassi Racing’s IndyCar boss Mike Hull at the end of 2007 to discuss a drive.
However the Australian says Hull hinted that he lacked the “Chip Factor” and talks didn’t progress beyond the initial meeting.
“We met at Starbucks,” said Power. “I’d had a really good year in ChampCar [in 2007]. I called Mike Hull and he said ‘meet me at Starbucks’.
“He talked about ‘you’ve got to have the Chip Factor’, he called it the Chip Factor in drivers.
“Guys like [Juan Pablo] Montoya, Jimmy Vasser, [Alex] Zanardi, these guys that drove for him. I had a good conversation with him but never heard back.
“Years later, when I was absolutely kicking arse, Mike Hull did say ‘our biggest regret is not signing you’. That was 2011, I reckon, when I’d done really well for Penske.”
After talks with CGR didn’t progress, Power wound up staying with KV Racing for what proved to be a difficult 2008 campaign.
That left him scrambling for a drive ahead of the 2009 season, Power admitting he genuinely considered returning to Australia to replace Dick Johnson Racing-bound James Courtney at Stone Brothers Racing in Supercars.
Will Power, Portland IndyCar 2019
Photo by: Motorsport Images
He then signed a deal to race in the ill-fated A1GP category, only to back out of the agreement on the advice of his wife.
That left him free to sign for Team Penske as a replacement for an under-fire Helio Castroneves who was battling tax evasion charges.
“[Stone Brothers Racing] were looking for someone,” explained Power.
“[Team owner] Ross Stone sent me an email. If I remember correctly, I spoke to him.
“That was certainly an option. I think I ‘ummed’ and ‘ahhed’ for a long time. At that point, it was so hard for me to give up the open-wheel thing.
“I actually signed a contract with A1GP, and my wife had told me ‘do not sign that contract, what if Penske or Ganassi have a ride?’.
“I’d had a horrible year, I was done, I had no ride. Is said ‘that will never happen, you’re crazy’.
“And I signed a contract under great stress because of the fights me and my wife had over it.
“My wife convinced me so much, I called them and said ‘I want out of the contract’.
“I got Derrick Walker to get me out of it. Then Helio Castroneves [got] arrested, and that was the Penske seat that I would end up getting.”
Power has since won 36 IndyCar races for the Penske organisation, including the 2018 Indy 500, and was crowned series champion in 2014.