No hard feelings and lots to look forward to as Power begins his Andretti era

Will Power is too experienced to let the uncomfortable end to his tenure at Team Penske become a distraction as he shifts into the final phase of his IndyCar career.

He left Roger Penske’s team by choice after 17 years, two championships, and an Indianapolis 500 win, and with a new deal at Andretti Global that should keep him busy for at least another three years, the 44-year-old appears to be at peace with the change he’s authored.

“Man, Roger gave me a great career,” Power said. “They just had this situation – he offered me a year (extension for 2026). It wasn't like, 'You're not coming back.' He offered me [the opportunity] to come back. But [I was] pretty far down the road [with Andretti] at that point. Yeah, the relationship is good. I'll always be grateful for what he did for my career and what he's done for the sport. I was lucky to drive for that long, and I could have continued, but I wanted sort of a longer term contract. And, also for myself, I wanted to know, 'What can I do on another team?'”

Power declined Penske’s offer to stay, which was a rarity in IndyCar, but his contributions to the team where he became the series’ all-time record holder for pole positions and delivered 43 of his 45 career wins left the organization with nothing but respect for his output from 2009-25.

“Very last time I was in there, they actually called me and said, 'Hey, we've got something for you. Why don't you come by the shop,' and it was a plaque,” he said. “I think it was of the Indianapolis Speedway actually and everyone on the team had signed it except Roger. Maybe he didn't get it to him.

“The time before that was really nice, too. I think I went in to pick some stuff up, and they all came out of their offices and we just had a really nice little chat. It was good stuff. Yeah, tremendous respect for Roger and the whole organization. I'd definitely like to beat him but I want to beat everyone. We've got to go out and win races. Yeah, I'll get him to sign the plaque.”

Among IndyCar team rankings, Power joins an Andretti Global that was third-best in 2025, trailing only Chip Ganassi Racing whose drivers placed first and third in the championship, and Arrow McLaren, which secured second. Andretti’s Kyle Kirkwood was often the leading contender to take on eventual champion Alex Palou, and while a rough second half of the season dropped him to fourth, there’s clear potential within Andretti to mount a similar, if not stronger charge with Power inserted alongside Kirkwood and Marcus Ericsson.

Ask the Andretti newcomer about the future, and he’s downright bullish in his belief for where the team can take itself.

“Just being around the shop, they definitely have all the ingredients,” Power said. “They have enough people. They have some very smart people. The group on my car is incredibly experienced. Just looking from the outside before I got there, I was like, Penske has the best pit stops. They train a lot and obviously have a good coach and so on, so I think that would be an area that I could see a lot of focus needing to be on – which it looks like it has been anyway in the off-season."

Other key areas of focus?

“Improvement on short ovals, road courses. I would say at Penske we needed to improve on road courses, as well," Power said. "I look at Andretti, I think their street course stuff is the best in the business. They're sort of hot and cold on the road courses and the short ovals – good thing we get a two-day test [coming up at Phoenix]. I have a ton of experience with short oval cars and developing them through the years with Penske to get to a point where we were very dominant, so to me, we're in a very good position.

“It's definitely going to be improved upon from last year. We're already a good team. Everything they're doing and have done, to me they'll just be better. I can just see the list of things that are getting done there. It's only going to get better. That's why I've said I believe the team will be the best team in the next three years.”