Power looking forward to oval return

Indianapolis, July 28, 2009: ill Power is looking forward to stretching his legs this weekend at Kentucky Speedway as the IndyCar Series temporarily ventures off road/street circuits for a 1.5-mile oval.

"It's a totally different style than a road course," said Power, whose return to the series after a two-month absence included a dominating victory in Edmonton and third place at Toronto in the No. 12 Penske Truck Rental entry. "It will take a little bit of time to get to up to speed. We don't want to go out straight hard, but I'm in a pretty good car so it will make things a lot easier and hopefully I can qualify and run at the front."

It will be the first competition on a 1.5-mile oval for Power since Chicagoland Speedway in October 2008. He started ninth and finished fifth in his only other oval start -- the Indianapolis 500 on May 24 - this season. Power will join rookies and others outside the top 10 in points for a 30-minute practice session (1:15 p.m. EDT) preceding the initial two-hour all-car practice July 31. Four-lap qualifications for the Meijer Indy 300 Presented by Red Baron and Edy's commence at 5:45.

"It's all experience," said Power, who had two top-10 finishes on 10 ovals in his first IndyCar Series season in '08 including fifth at Chicagoland. "It's like the road courses I've had so much experience on that after six months I could jump in and still be pretty quick. Last year on ovals was my first year. You just continue to gain experience, and that's what the Month of May is really good for. I did a lot of laps, had a really good race that gave me confidence. I'm looking forward to joining the team on the mile-and-a-half ovals."