![\"Will](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/01-29-Power-Inside.jpg\")
<\/p>\nWill Power enters the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season with a refreshed mindset.<\/p>\n
Throughout much of 2025, Power questioned his future in the sport. He wanted to remain with Team Penske \u2013 the organization he called home since 2009 \u2013 but an offer wasn\u2019t immediately forthcoming. Eventually, one arrived, but by then Power had already begun discussions with Andretti Global.<\/p>\n
For the first time in his career, Power also found himself wondering what he could accomplish outside of the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. Power spent time with Team Australia and KV Racing Technology in his first three seasons, but the bulk of his success came in his 16 full seasons with Team Penske.<\/p>\n
Forty-two of his 45 career wins came with the team — including the 2018 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge — along with 65 of his record-setting 71 poles.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to know what I could do on another team,\u201d Power said.<\/p>\n
\u201cRoger (Penske) gave me a great career. They just had this situation; he offered me a year. It wasn\u2019t like, \u2018You\u2019re not coming back.\u2019 He offered me to come back.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I was pretty far down the road with Andretti Global at that point. The relationship is good. I\u2019ll always be grateful for what he (Penske) did for my career and what he\u2019s done for the sport. I was lucky to drive there for that long, and I could have continued, but I wanted a longer-term contract.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Power (photo, above) won championships with Team Penske in 2014 and 2022. Now, he\u2019ll try to deliver Andretti Global its fifth title and first since Ryan Hunter-Reay won in 2012. Hunter-Reay edged Power by just three points that season.<\/p>\n
The schedule offers Power an immediate chance to make a statement. Sixteen of his 45 career wins have come on street circuits, and two of the first three races in 2026, the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 1 and the inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington on March 15, take place on that type of circuit.<\/p>\n
Andretti Global was strong on those layouts last season, with the No. 26 Honda driven by Colton Herta starting on the front row in all four street races. Power adds even more pedigree, owning nine NTT P1 Awards at St. Petersburg and a victory there in 2010. He also has three top-seven finishes in his last four starts at the track, including a runner-up in 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the early part of the season, there are tracks that really suit that car,\u201d Power said. \u201cI expect other people will work on that in the offseason and close the gap, but we\u2019re going to close the gap in other areas, as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the whole season, I feel like we should have a championship-contending car. I don\u2019t see anyone standing out except (Alex) Palou. It\u2019s not even the team standing out \u2013 it was one guy extracting the most out of his car. If you took him out of the equation, it\u2019s not like the other Ganassi guys were as dominant as he was.\u201d<\/p>\n
A key part of Power desiring a long-term deal is the pursuit of personal milestone: 50 career wins. He\u2019s five shy of becoming just the third driver to reach that mark, joining A.J. Foyt (67) and Scott Dixon (59).<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the goal,\u201d Power said. \u201cTo get to 50 would be very nice. That\u2019s possible, too. Get three or four wins in a year, and you\u2019re right there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Power is already laying the groundwork. His new teammates, Kyle Kirkwood and Marcus Ericsson, have noticed how engaged he\u2019s been since joining the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know how many hours we\u2019ve been on the phone already,\u201d Ericsson said. \u201cHe\u2019s a funny guy. He\u2019s a lot more technical than I expected. I guess that\u2019s why he\u2019s been doing it for so long and is still so good at it.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019ll call me up randomly and just start talking. I\u2019ll be like, \u2018Hey, I\u2019m out for dinner,\u2019 and he just keeps talking. He\u2019s a funny guy, but I learn a lot from him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cool thing is he comes in with so much experience. He\u2019s 44, has been doing this for 20-plus years, but he\u2019s still as hungry as ever. For the team, it\u2019s going to be great to have him. The lineup with me, Kyle and Will feels super strong.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Will Power enters the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season with a refreshed mindset. Throughout much of 2025, Power…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":264374,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":{"0":"post-264373","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264373\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}