Will Power struggles on birthday as he begins INDYCAR season seeking extension

Will Power had a rough 44th birthday Saturday when he lost power in his car, brushed the wall during practice and had his hybrid engine changed before qualifying for INDYCAR's season-opening race.

Then he failed to advance out of the first round of qualifying while teammates Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden both did move on.

Power will start 13th, while McLaughlin won the pole for Sunday's race on the downtown streets of St. Petersburg.

"Can't leave anything on the table in this series," said Power, who slammed his head-and-neck restraint down when he got out of his car. "Maybe it's a good thing and we can win on strategy."

Power is the final year of his contract at Team Penske, where he's driven since 2009 and won two INDYCAR championships and the Indianapolis 500. The Australian is determined to continue his career — he hired Fernando Alonso's management agency and is represented in negotiations by former INDYCAR driver Oriol Servia — but talks apparently haven't even started with Penske. So it was interesting when McLaughlin announced before the first practice of the season that he had received an extension.

"We're LIVE and ready for a big 2025!" McLaughlin posted on social media. "Signed a long-term extension in the off-season with Team Penske and have been absolutely 100% focused on prep for this year. Let's kick this season off right! STRAIGHT. TO. THE. MOON."

McLaughlin, from New Zealand, is starting his fifth full season with the team and joins reigning two-time defending Indy 500 winner Newgarden as drivers under long-term contracts for Roger Penske.

Power said he has known of McLaughlin's extension for several months and didn't feel slighted by the signing.

"He's young, obviously a younger guy, it didn't