Will Power Bio
William Steven Power, known professionally as Will Power, is an Australian racing driver widely regarded as one of the most accomplished open-wheel competitors of his generation. Born on 1 March 1981 in Toowoomba, Queensland, Power currently sits among the most decorated figures in Indy car history, holding the all-time IndyCar pole position record and ranking inside the top five in career wins and podiums. He is set to compete in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 26 Dallara-Honda for Andretti Global, after a long and successful tenure with Team Penske.
Power captured the 2018 Indianapolis 500 and has won the IndyCar Championship twice, in 2014 and 2022. Across his career he has combined a reputation for blistering qualifying speed with a relentless winning mentality, amassing 45 career Indy car wins, 71 pole positions, and 108 podiums entering the next chapter of his career.
Early Life and Background
Will Power was born on 1 March 1981 in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, the son of open-wheel racer Bob Power. Growing up around racing, he was introduced to motorsport at a young age and began his driving career on small circuits in Queensland. His earliest competitive laps came behind the wheel of a Datsun 1200 at Morgan Park Raceway in Warwick and at Carnel Raceway in Stanthorpe.
Power progressed quickly through Australian junior formulas, working alongside his family in a small, family-oriented team. In 1999 he began racing an aging family-owned Swift SC92F in the Queensland Formula Ford Championship, then stepped up to the Australian Formula Ford Championship in 2000, where he scored promising results. By 2001 he was consistently running at the front of Formula Ford competition, setting the stage for his move into senior open-wheel racing.
Path to NASCAR
Although Will Power is best known for his open-wheel career in Indy car racing rather than NASCAR, his professional path passed through a number of established ladder series that shaped his craft. After his Formula Ford and Formula Holden success in Australia, including the 2002 Australian Drivers’ Championship in Formula Holden, Power relocated to Europe. He competed in the British Formula 3 Championship with teams including Fortec Motorsport and Alan Docking Racing between 2003 and 2004, and even tested a Minardi Formula One car in Italy in 2004.
In 2005 Power raced in the World Series by Renault for Carlin Motorsport, scoring two victories and four podiums, and also represented Team Australia in the A1 Grand Prix series. His European results, combined with his Champ Car opportunity in late 2005, opened the door to the top levels of North American open-wheel racing, the professional environment in which he has built his record-breaking career.
Will Power Career
Early Career (2002–2005)
Power’s professional breakthrough came in 2002 when he swept the Formula Holden field to win the Australian Drivers’ Championship by more than 50 points. He also contested the Australian Formula 3 Championship with the Cooltemp Racing team, narrowly missing the title despite joining the series mid-season.
His European campaign began with British Formula 3 in 2003 and continued into 2004, where he recorded five podium finishes. In 2005 Power joined Carlin Motorsport in the World Series by Renault and was competitive throughout, securing two race wins, four podiums, and five front-row qualifying results. Late in 2005 he made his Champ Car debut with Team Australia at the Lexmark Indy 300 at Surfers Paradise, finishing seventh in the World Series by Renault standings overall.
Champ Car Breakthrough (2006–2007)
Power drove full-time for Team Australia in the Champ Car World Series in 2006 and immediately established himself as a rising star. He posted nine top-ten finishes, earned his first Champ Car podium at the final round in Mexico City, and captured the 2006 Champ Car Rookie of the Year award on his way to sixth in the championship.
In 2007 Power became the first Australian to win a Champ Car race when he dominated the inaugural Vegas Grand Prix from pole position. He followed that with a stunning wet-weather victory at the Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto, charging from fourth to first in 14 laps. Additional podiums at Long Beach, Mont-Tremblant, and Mexico City, plus pole positions at Houston, Edmonton, Surfers Paradise, and Mexico City, lifted him to fourth in the final 2007 standings.
IndyCar Series Breakthrough (2008–2013)
Following the merger of Champ Car and the IndyCar Series, Power joined KV Racing Technology for 2008 and won the final Champ Car race at Long Beach, which also counted as his first IndyCar victory. A consistent 2009 partial campaign with Team Penske, including a dominant win at the Rexall Edmonton Indy, was cut short by a violent practice crash in Sonoma that left him with two fractured vertebrae.
Promoted to a full-time Penske seat in 2010, Power opened the year with consecutive wins in Brazil and St. Petersburg, becoming the first IndyCar driver since Sam Hornish Jr. in 2001 to win the first two races of a season. He added five wins, a record eight pole positions, and the inaugural Mario Andretti Road Course Championship. Power won six races in 2011 but lost the title battle, while 2012 and 2013 saw him finish runner-up in the standings three years in a row before breaking through for his first championship in 2014.
Team Penske Era (2014–2025)
Power finally captured his first IndyCar Championship in 2014, sealing the title with a ninth-place finish in the Fontana finale and winning the standings by 62 points over teammate Hélio Castroneves. He added a second championship in 2022 at Laguna Seca after leading the points late in the season. Along the way, he also claimed his most iconic single result, winning the 2018 Indianapolis 500 on 27 May of that year.
His 17-year run with Team Penske came to a close after the 2025 season, a campaign that included a podium at the Indy Grand Prix, a win at Portland, and a ninth-place finish in the final standings. Two days after the Nashville finale, Penske officials announced that Power would leave the team, ending one of the longest driver-team relationships in modern IndyCar history.
Driving Style and Strengths
Will Power is widely recognized as one of the most naturally gifted qualifiers in IndyCar history, a strength reflected in his record-breaking 71 pole positions. His smooth, precise style is best suited to road and street circuits, where his mechanical sympathy, race-craft timing, and ability to attack on restarts have produced 19 road course wins. Over the years he has formed strong technical partnerships with strategists inside the Penske organization, benefiting from data-driven race execution and aggressive pit strategy.
Notable Races and Milestones
Signature moments in Power’s career include his 2018 Indianapolis 500 victory, his first Champ Car win at the 2007 Vegas Grand Prix, and his emotional 2014 championship-clinching run at Fontana. He has also reached victory lane at classic road courses such as Road America, Watkins Glen, Mid-Ohio, Barber Motorsports Park, and Sonoma, while on ovals he has scored wins at Milwaukee, Texas, Pocono, and Iowa. His pole position tally of 71 surpasses the previous IndyCar benchmark once held by Mario Andretti.
Will Power Career Wins
Will Power’s professional win list is among the deepest in Indy car racing. He has accumulated 45 Indy car victories, 19 of which have come on road courses, with additional wins on short, intermediate, and long ovals. His first North American win came in the 2008 Long Beach race, while his most recent IndyCar victory came during the 2025 season at Portland with Team Penske.
IndyCar Series Highlights
Power is fourth all-time in IndyCar wins with 45 victories and first all-time in pole positions with 71. He has won at least one IndyCar race in every season from 2010 through 2022, a streak of 13 consecutive winning seasons, and added further wins in 2024 and 2025. Crown jewel highlights include the 2018 Indianapolis 500, three Mario Andretti Road Course Championships, and IndyCar Championships in 2014 and 2022.
Other Wins and Performances
Outside of IndyCar, Power captured the 2002 Australian Drivers’ Championship in Formula Holden and scored two victories in the 2005 World Series by Renault with Carlin Motorsport. He also contributed to a runner-up finish for Team Australia in the A1 Grand Prix series opener at Brands Hatch. In 2013 he added a brief appearance in popular culture by voicing the Australian anchor in the animated film Turbo.
| Series | Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
|---|---|---|---|
| IndyCar Series | 45 | Numerous | 71 |
| Champ Car World Series | 2 | Multiple | 5 |
Will Power Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Will Power is the son of Bob Power, a former open-wheel racer who introduced his son to motorsport at a young age. He also has a brother, Damien Power, who works as a stand-up comedian. The Power family’s deep connection to Australian motorsport helped shape Will’s early career, with much of his junior racing supported by close family members.
Personal Life
Power married Liz Cannon in 2010. The couple first met during Power’s CART days, when Liz joined Walker Racing as a receptionist and later worked in the team’s public relations department. Their son was born in December 2016. In his spare time, Power is an accomplished drummer and has performed at charity events organized by IndyCar.
2025 Season Performance
Will Power’s 2025 IndyCar Series campaign opened with a 26th-place DNF at St. Petersburg, but he responded with a podium finish at the Indy Grand Prix. His season was then disrupted at the Indianapolis 500, where he and teammate Josef Newgarden were sent to the back of the field after their cars were found with illegal modified attenuators during fast-12 qualifying, resulting in fines, lost qualification points, and the dismissal of key Penske personnel.
Power recovered strongly after Indianapolis, earning a podium at Iowa and returning to victory lane at Portland to claim his first win of the year. The Portland result helped him climb back into the top ten in points heading into the season finale.
Power closed the 2025 season with a 21st-place finish at Nashville, ending the year ninth in the championship standings. Two days later, Team Penske announced that he would leave the organization after 17 seasons, clearing the way for his move to Andretti Global for 2026.