INDIANAPOLIS – Will Power didn’t sleep after he won the Indianapolis 500. More precisely, he couldn’t sleep.

His mind bustled with different thoughts. Not about the race itself, necessarily, but about the moment, the appreciation and respect he received afterward from fellow competitors, and the unusual journey that brought him to this moment in time.

Nine years ago, Power’s career was at a crossroad. A natural talent, the Australian had been impressive in Indy car racing for four seasons. In 2009, though, he took a temp job with Team Penske while Helio Castroneves tended to legal issues involving taxes. While practicing for the final race that season, Power broke bones in his back in a frightening crash at Sonoma Raceway. It wasn’t clear if he’d return at all, let alone to Roger Penske’s team.

He did, of course, and it has worked well for team and driver. Since 2009, Power has secured his legacy as one of the best of his era, advancing to an eighth-place tie with Al Unser Jr. in all-time Indy car wins (34), including his biggest victory yet, Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil.

A lack of sleep following such a monumental achievement, then, is certainly understandable.

“Usually you do that when you have a bad day,” Power said Monday morning during a last meeting at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with media covering the 102nd running. “You replay it, replay it. This is probably the first time I didn't even think about the race.

“Like, normally you do something wrong in a race (and think), ‘I could have done that better.’ This was the perfect day. No mistakes from me, no mistakes on pit lane. Just as good as it gets.

“I just thought of the celebration and the feeling of winning this race. Just couldn't sleep with the adrenaline.”

Since that part-time season in 2009, Power has won 31 races – the most for any driver in Team Penske’s illustrious history – and one Verizon IndyCar Series championship. On Monday morning, he returned to the start-finish line at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to take photos with his team, car and family, and celebrate what kept him awake all night.

“(It’s) such a weight off of my shoulders,” he said. “I don't have to have those questions any more about what it would mean to win the Indy 500. Now I know. Can't put it into words.”

After Power healed from the Sonoma crash, Penske hired him full time for the 2010 season. A skilled road- and street-course racer, Power wasn’t immediately keen about oval tracks. He’d only raced on one (Milwaukee) in two-plus Champ Car World Series seasons before the sport’s 2008 unification that instantly made oval prowess a priority. In that first Verizon IndyCar Series season alone in 2008, Power faced 10 oval races.

“I remember listening to him complain on the scanner, and I didn't really like him much in 2008 because he hated this place,” Indy 500 runner-up Ed Carpenter said after the race. “Somewhere along the line, Will and I became friends somehow. You can ask him now, like his favorite part of the schedule are the ovals. It's bizarre, but we kind of bonded since I'm an oval (-only) guy now. He likes to think of himself as an oval guy. He definitely has one up on me now. I'm really happy for him.”

Instead of wallowing in his dislike of ovals, Power taught himself to get better at them and enjoy them. He won at Texas Motor Speedway in 2011, then at California’s Auto Club Speedway in 2013, then at Milwaukee in 2014, then at Pocono in 2016, then at Texas and Pocono again last year. Power is so at home now on big ovals that he’s won the last three INDYCAR superspeedway events.

“It was interesting when I started because it was a very different formula, which I didn't like, where you really take the driver out of the equation,” Power said. “We were wide open everywhere. Actually, I came to enjoy that sort of racing. I got good at it and kind of liked it. Didn't really win any races.

“I think since 2013, probably, I just got better and better and better at ovals. Yes, just absolutely love them now. Just understand them so well. I know exactly what I want, exactly how the car should feel, know how to drive them, know when to take risks. That just took time, like everyone.”

After giving Penske his 200th Indy car victory May 12 in the INDYCAR Grand Prix on the IMS road course, Power gave Penske his 17th Indy 500 victory – extending the team’s long-established record – and a 201st Indy car win a couple weeks shy of the 50th anniversary of the team’s first open-wheel race.

Had he not done well in that part-time audition in 2009 – he won at Edmonton and finished on the podium at Long Beach and Toronto – Power might not be celebrating today.

“I'd done enough to show them it was worth giving me a shot the next year, whether that was part time or full time,” Power said. “Ended up being full time. Then once I had a full-time ride, I really was able to show them what I could do.”

By taking the lead in the championship standings with Sunday’s win, Power has moved to the top of the list of favorites with 11 races remaining in the season. After all, since 2009, he’s never finished lower than fifth in the final standings – and among that eight-year run are the 2014 championship and four runner-up finishes.

After he won Sunday, fellow drivers congratulated him, one after another.

“I saw (Alexander) Rossi, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Graham (Rahal) walk out to congratulate me, and Oriol (Servia),” Power said. “They're all guys I respect massively. Just guys that are great for the series, too, especially the Americans. That means a lot to me. Dario (Franchitti) came up, meant a lot to me. So many people were really happy to see me win.

“It's such a great group of drivers we have in INDYCAR right now. The most competitive set of drivers we've ever had. You look down the field week in, week out, there's not a guy you would say, ‘He couldn't win a race.’”

Following Monday night’s Indianapolis 500 Victory Celebration, Power is off on the customary winner’s tour that will take him to New York and then Dallas-Fort Worth before he rejoins that great group of drivers later this week for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear doubleheader weekend. Races air at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday and Sunday on ABC and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network.