Team Penske has an IndyCar championship ode for Will: 'We've got the Power!'

Editor's note: Official race results and final season-ending driver point standings are at the bottom of this story.

Whenever he finally hangs up his helmet for good, Will Power will be known as one of IndyCar racing’s all-time greats.

He already is in a way.

The 41-year-old Australian native has 41 wins, including the 2018 Indianapolis 500, the all-time pole position record with 68, and now has two IndyCar championships.

His second title came Sunday afternoon in the season finale at Laguna Seca. By finishing third in the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey, Power collected title No. 2. He entered the race with a 21-point lead in the standings and proved to be no match for any of the other four drivers mathematically still eligible for the title.

The weekend could have not gone any better for Power.

“It's so surreal,” Power said after winning the race. “In the offseason, my wife said to me, 'I believe you're going to beat Mario's record and you're going to win the championship.' It actually gave me confidence that I could do it. That's how much confidence I have in her gut feel. I just couldn't believe that they came true."

Power was in no way the most dominant driver of the 2022 season. In fact, he had only one win, coming at Detroit’s Belle Isle street circuit in June.

But as he said so many times throughout the season -- and once again reiterated it after Sunday's race -- he played the so-called "long game" and remained consistent throughout the 17-race season, picking up nine total podiums. Power also only finished out of the top 10 four times in 2022.

"From the beginning, it was just playing the long game, not necessarily going for the big wins and all that,” Power said. “As I've gotten older, I have a lot more gratitude for my life and what I get to do. Not everyone gets to do this and I'm lucky and I appreciate it a lot."

Josef Newgarden finished the race one position ahead of Power in second place, but could not clinch the championship. He finished 16 points behind in the final standings and will have to wait until 2023 to chase title No. 3.

“I really wanted to (win the title)," Newgarden said. "We got all the way to second, and I'm like, we just need one more spot, but he (race winner Alex Palou) seemed a little out of reach today. So, a tremendous job by them (the No. 12 team of Power).

Much was said last week at Portland at how Scott Dixon started 16th and finished third, but that was nothing compared to what Newgarden did Sunday at Laguna Seca. He started 25th, one spot above last on the grid, and finished second, the biggest improvement in any race this season.

"I'm happy we were able to fight back to where we did," Newgarden said. "It was a tough day and we knew we had to fight. Ultimately we've come up short in this championship. We've got to be in a different position next year and fight a lot harder so that we can hopefully be in a much more favorable position coming into this weekend -- and I believe we can do that."

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, who came into Sunday's race tied with Newgarden for second in the standings, just 20 points behind Power, finished a disappointing 12th and was not able to win a seventh championship, which would have tied him with A.J. Foyt for most IndyCar titles.

However, Dixon’s teammate, Alex Palou - the 2021 IndyCar champ who has yet to officially confirm where he’ll be racing next year - ended the season on a high note by winning the race -- his first of the season, by the way.

“We knew it was going to be a tough race even before coming here this weekend because we tested here, and we kind of had good sessions and bad sessions during the weekend,” Palau said. “Today, we ended up really good in the warmup. Super happy with the car.

“And then yeah, with that engine penalty (being forced to change engines), we just knew it was going to be tougher, at least the first stint, but to be honest, yeah, our car was on rails today. Didn't struggle with tire deg (degradation) like we did at Portland and the last couple of races. I don't know, but man, I'm happy that we ended this way."

Christian Lundgaard was also happy after the race. By finishing fifth, he was able to clinch Rookie of the Year honors.

“I think actually this race today might have been one of the better races we've had all year,” Lundgaard said. “I think we weren't really competitive all weekend. We were sort of there but not really there. We didn't qualify well enough. We were good on the blacks (tires), but as soon as we put the reds on there was just no pace.

“We did the job today, and I'm just happy that the team gave me the opportunity to be here and achieve this. I'm grateful for Bobby (majority team owner Bobby Rahal of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing). Thank you for giving me this opportunity and keeping me. I'm happy about that.

"Now I've got another championship to win. You only get one shot at the rookie championship, so getting it was a big achievement for me.”

With the 2022 season officially in the books, the anticipation now begins for the 2023 NTT IndyCar Series season, which begins just under six months from now with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 5.