Intro To Indy - Team Penske - Pt 2 - Will Power

Now that we have a brief overview of Team Penske as a team, we'll dive into the drivers.

We're going to start with their longest standing driver, the forty three year old from Australia, Will Power. This is his headshot from the IndyCar website.

Will is the senior most driver at Team Penske, and the second most senior full time driver on the grid. The only one driving this year with a full time seat that beats him is fellow Australian born Scott Dixon, who races for CGR. However, Dixon is a New Zealand national.

Now, we'll start at the beginning with Will. Like many drivers in F1, Will comes from a racing family. He started in Australian racing series like Australia Formula Ford, Formula Holden, and then the Australian Formula 3 Championship. In all three Will placed in the top two.

As most do, he then switched to European racing in 2003. This is the traditional path for those on their way to Formula 1, as he joined British Formula 3 for two seasons. He was able to test a Formula 1 car twice, but it didn't lead to a step up.

For 2005 & 2006, Will pursued World Series Renault and then the now defunct A1 Grand Prix Series, where he raced for the Australian national team.

Alongside this, in 2005 he joined Champ Car's Team Australia part time. Champ Car was somewhat of a response to dissolution of CART and departure of several teams to IRL (now IndyCar). He stayed with Champ Car full time for 2006 & 2007, placing within the top ten each time and winning Rookie of the Year in 2006. In 2008, when Champ merged with IRL, Will moved to IndyCar.

His first season in IndyCar was at KV Racing Technology (no longer competing). where he won one race and came in 12th.

In 2009, Team Penske came calling.

In retrospect, it may seem very obvious that the rest was history. However, Will was originally called in to replace Hélio Castroneves temporarily in the #3 car as he dealt with tax evasion charges. He was in the #3 car for one race, as Castroneves was acquitted and could return to racing after the season opener.

Castroneves is a big name in racing, especially in 2009. Castroneves had won the Indy 500 twice, back to back, in 2001 and 2002,and had placed in fourth the year before. Power, a very small name, was bumped for who ended up being the 2009 Indy 500 winner.

But Roger Penske saw something in him, and Will was placed in the #12 car for the next race at Long Beach. After a second place finish, Will was offered five more races that season with Penske.

He won one of the remaining five and came fifth in the 500.

Next season, 2010, Will was promoted to full time driver, and I don't think he's ever looked back. Neither has Penske, and their time together showcases the loyalty between team and driver. Here are some highlights of Will's seventeen seasons with IndyCar.

2014 - First Championship

2018 - First Indy 500 win

2022 - Second Championship

In his seventeen season in IndyCar, he's only had one season where he didn't have a win (2023). And that season was a rough one, both on and off track. But the following year he had three victories and additional podiums. Never count Will Power out!

Now that you know the highlights of Will's technical story, let's get into his personality & style.

Will Power is not only a phenomenal driver, but passionate and alive. Though Penske Perfect he may be - one winless season out of sixteen is crazy - personality wise, he is not. Will is a firecracker, and unafraid to show in real time how he is feeling. His excitement and especially his ire can be felt by fans and also other drivers. I won't include Will's notorious flipping the bird photos here, but just know, he lets everyone know loud and clear how he's feeling. If you want a driver who you can feel the highs and lows with, Will is your guy.

Or if you like Flavor Flav. Flav is a big Will Power fan.

Will also has a hold on reality I feel like some drivers do not. Will's wife, Liz, had a Staph infection that eventually settled into her spinal column in January 2023. This can be very deadly, and Liz had to have emergency surgery. The racing community in Charlotte, notably Rick Hendrick of Hendrick Motorsports, jumped into action to aid the Powers in their time of need. Here's a link to a podcast that Liz went on if you'd like to know more about the struggles they faced. There's a transcript in the comments if you can't listen!

Liz spent all of 2023 battling the infection, and has made it to the other side. Will has stated that he's grateful for her recovery but weighted leaving after her diagnosis. He has one foot firmly on the ground, and while racing is a major part of his life, it isn't his whole life.

Personally, I like that, and you find it a lot more in IndyCar than you do in other racing series.

Next up is the #2 car Josef Newgarden!