The clockwise (CW) or counterclockwise (CCW) spinning of a bacterial flagellar motor is controlled by the concentration Y of a phosphorylated protein, CheY-P. Representing the stochastic switching behavior of the motor by a dynamical two-state (CW and CCW) model, whose energy levels fluctuate in time (t) as Yt fluctuates, we show that temporal fluctuations in Yt can generate a power-law distribution for the durations of the CCW states, in agreement with recent experiments. Correlations between

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... he duration times of nearby CCW (CW) intervals are predicted by our model, and shown to exist in the experimental data and to affect the power spectrum for motor switching.