IndyAutomobile’s Will Power will not return for 18th Team Penske season

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Will Power, the consummate firm man who received two IndyAutomobile titles and the Indianapolis 500 for Roger Penske, is not going to return to Team Penske for an 18th season.

The long-expected announcement was lastly made Tuesday, two days after the season finale, and practically a yr after hypothesis started that Power wouldn’t be renewed when his contract expired because the crew eyed a youthful driver. Power turns 45 firstly of subsequent season.

“As we sat down to talk about our future together, Will felt that it was time for him to make a change beginning with next season,” Penske stated in a press release. “He has been an outstanding driver and teammate for our organization. His results speak for themselves, and we wish him the very best in the next phase of his career.”

As the season dragged on with none motion from Penske, Power’s departure turned an increasing number of apparent. He confirmed up on the season opener in March — on his birthday weekend — dealing with questions on the potential of 23-year-old David Malukas changing him on the finish of the yr. The hypothesis was by no means silenced by Team Penske, however Malukas was not confirmed as Power’s alternative Tuesday.

After Sunday’s season finale at Nashville Superspeedway, Power was each reflective and grateful for the time he’d had at Penske, the place he received 42 races, two championships and the Indy 500 and have become IndyAutomobile’s profession pole winner with 71.

“It’s been the honor of my life to drive for Roger and the Penske organization,” Power stated. “We have accomplished so much together, and I will always be grateful for my time with the team and my teammates who have supported me along the way. After much consideration, I felt like a change for me was the right move at this time.”

Power, with 45 profession victories, ranks fourth on the IndyAutomobile profession wins checklist behind A.J. Foyt (67), Scott Dixon (59) and Mario Andretti (52). He handed Andretti as the best qualifier in collection historical past.

This season, he proved to be one of the best of the trio of Penske drivers — he was essentially the most constant, his win at Portland was the primary of the season for Penske — and he has proven at 44 that he is nonetheless among the many best on the grid. Power was main at Nashville and had positioned himself for the win till a mistake within the pits took him out of competition.

He informed his engineer on pit lane after the race that he wasn’t returning in 2026 in a dialog that had each engineer David Faustino and Power’s spouse, Liz, in tears. Power has received at the very least one race each season besides 2023 — the yr Liz practically died from a staph an infection.

It’s not clear the place Power will go, however the softest touchdown spot on the grid could be if Colton Herta leaves IndyAutomobile for F2, the Formula 1 feeder system, in an effort to realize the tremendous license Herta must compete for the brand new Cadillac crew within the world collection.

That would open a seat at Andretti Global, and new proprietor Dan Towriss — who additionally owns the Cadillac F1 crew, a NASCAR crew and a number of different organizations in varied motorsports collection — might use a veteran like Power as he makes an attempt to carry the IndyAutomobile program again to the highest of the collection.