Racing
League
Rugby
Cricket
Golf
Olympics
Football
Motorsport
Combat Sports
Basketball
Other Sports
Sport Nation
NFL: player props on betchaSheer Will Power: Aussie could make ex-IndyCar team suffer
Jenna Fryer • January 19th, 2026 8:16 am
Australian motorsport great Will Power is starting with a new IndyCar team - and has a point to prove | Photo: AP
Will Power casually walked through the near-empty fan zone at Daytona International Speedway in a simple, white firesuit void of any Penske or Verizon Wireless logos.
The Australian driver, one of the most successful drivers in IndyCar history, was practically unnoticeable at an unfamiliar track where few should have recognised him.
And yet suddenly a crowd grew out of nowhere.
"Will Power! When you put your foot on the gas in an IRL car, there's no stopping you!" one man gushed as he clamoured for a selfie.
Others handed the Aussie diecasts of his iconic No.12 Team Penske car for his signature.
They heaped praise and admiration and offered Power a warm welcome at his first Rolex 24 at Daytona sports car race. He will drive for 75 Express, a team owned by fellow Australian Kenny Habul, in the GTD Pro class next week.
It was the confidence boost Power didn't know he needed.
"It feels good just to be recognised," he told one fan.
Will Power, the Indianapolis 500 champ in 20128, is one of the all-time greats of IndyCar racing | Photo: AP
Power had driven for Roger Penske since 2009 and set the series record for poles (71), built a career that has him ranked fourth on the all-time wins list with 71 victories - one of them the Indianapolis 500 - and earned him two IndyCar titles.
But Power, who turns 45 on the same day the IndyCar season opens March 1 in St. Petersburg, simply doesn't have much time left on his racing career.
It led Team Penske to choose 24-year-old David Malukas as his replacement, a transition more than a year in the making.
But a lack of transparency forced Power to twist in uncertainty for almost the entire 2025 IndyCar season.
With Power still at the top of his game, Penske late last season was apparently prepared to offer Power a peace offering of a one-year contract extension.
But the damage to Power's ego, pride and mental state already had been done; he told his boss of nearly two decades that he wasn't interested.
Power instead signed a contract with Andretti Global, now owned by TWG Motorsports and Dan Towriss, a group eager to add his veteran leadership in its bid to return the organisation to the top of IndyCar.
Will Power leading New Zealander Scott McLaughlin in an IndyCar race at Iowa Speedway | Photo: AP
Spurning a return to Penske did not sit well with the boss, who held Power to a contract that ran through December 31 and essentially parked him from starting with Andretti until January 1 this year.
Power, a career Penske loyalist who meets every definition of "Penske Material," has been crushed by the way his parting played out and the animosity he felt from his former organisation through the final four months of last year.
The ramifications may come back to bite Team Penske, who suffered one of its worst seasons in years.
Power rang in 2026 by going for a run at midnight on New Year's Eve decked in Andretti gear. He was in the shop two days later to meet his new team, sit in the seat of his new car and start working on a campaign he's determined will make Penske regret writing him off.
"There's nothing more I want to do this year than beat Penske every single weekend," Power said.
"And I understand why I wasn't allowed to start at Andretti until now because we're only two weeks into the year and we are already working very, very hard on everything we need to get to get to work on."
Towriss, in another coup, snagged Ron Ruzewski, one of three Team Penske executives fired during an Indianapolis 500 cheating scandal, as team principal of its IndyCar team.
"Roger was very shrewd in not letting us get started until the start of the year because he knows how much information we are bringing into Andretti," said Power.
Car owner Roger Penske and his ace driver Will Power made a top team | Photo: AP
He has secured a townhome in Indiana to be close to the race team while he keeps his full-time home in North Carolina. He spent an entire day in the Honda simulator earlier this week before heading to Daytona for his first time participating in the most prestigious endurance race in North America.
The rest of the IndyCar field is intrigued to see what Power delivers this year at Andretti because they believe he never has been more motivated.
"He's going to be very fast, very good, especially on road and street courses," former Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin said.
"I know what Will's like and he's very regimented in terms of what he likes and how he likes things and what he can offer to Andretti. I wouldn't be surprised if he's on the pole at St. Pete."
"He's coming in with an insane worth ethic. He thinks about racing all the time," Towriss said. "We want to win and if you want to just have a job or just work at a race team, then go somewhere else.
"Come here with us because you want to be part of something and build something special. We know we got that in Will Power."
IndyCar hopeful Liam Sceats on the influence of Scott Dixon on his career | Scotty & Izzy
