Today’s question: Team Penske and Will Power parted company Sept. 2 after 17 seasons together. Power was named Sept. 3 as the driver of the No. 26 Honda for Andretti Global. What is the lasting memory of Power’s tenure with Team Penske?

Will Power

Curt Cavin: The championships and the Indy 500 win are highlights, for sure, but for me it’s the years of elite consistency. Will won a race in 14 consecutive seasons and in 16 of the 17 years he drove for Roger Penske (the only year he didn’t win a race was in 2023 when his wife, Liz, was terribly ill). Yes, Team Penske has been a gold standard of the sport all that time, but Will led the team in wins five times and tied for the most wins on two other occasions. In 2011, he won six races (photo, above) while teammates Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe failed to reach victory lane. Will averaged nearly 2.5 race wins per season for 17 years, winning at least three races nine times. All of this leads me to the most significant of his Team Penske accomplishments: He leaves as the winningest driver in team history (42 wins). You’d think the team’s record holder would be Rick Mears or Castroneves, but it’s not. It’s the driver who got his chance with the team only because of Castroneves’ tax evasion case in 2009. And best of all, Will made the most of his opportunity while maintaining his quirky and endearing approach to life.

Will Power

Eric Smith: Among the many Will Power accomplishments with Team Penske, his first championship in 2014 stands out to me (photo, above). Remarkably, he could have claimed the title in three of the four preceding seasons, finishing second in the final standings each time. Costly finishes in season finales – 25th at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2010, 19th at Kentucky Speedway in 2011 (after the Las Vegas finale was canceled due to Dan Wheldon’s tragic accident there) and 24th at Auto Club Speedway in 2012 following a crash – kept the title just out of reach. But in 2014, a stronger season culminated in a ninth-place finish at Auto Club Speedway, securing his long-awaited first championship. With the proverbial monkey finally off his back, Power's legacy as a champion was officially cemented.

Will Power

Arni Sribhen: The moment that defines Will Power’s career with Team Penske is almost like the moment he finds himself in now – betting on himself with a new team. But I think it will also go down as the defining moment of his INDYCAR SERIES career. In 2009 (photo, above), Power found himself without a ride after the team that brought him to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES from Champ Car lost its backing. Power could have taken a lesser spot on a lesser team, but he decided to bet on himself and took a substitute role at Team Penske without knowing when or if Helio Castroneves would return to the team from legal issues. Castroneves eventually returned for Round 2 of that season, but Power had already done enough to convince “The Captain,” Roger Penske, that he was indeed Penske material. Two INDYCAR SERIES championships, 42 INDYCAR SERIES wins (including the 2018 Indy 500) and 65 poles later, it’s safe to say never bet against Will Power when he’s betting on himself. He's made a career out of doing that.

Liz Will Power

Paul Kelly: My lasting memory of Power’s illustrious tenure with Team Penske comes from one of his worst seasons on track – 2023. He failed to win a race for the first time since 2008 and finished seventh in the standings in the defense of his 2022 championship. But he had a damn good reason for that dip in form: He spent the prior offseason and the entire 2023 season caring for his wife, Liz, who was gravely ill. Power and other family members helped nurse Liz (photo, above left) back to better health that year as essentially in-home health aides. To his credit, Power never used placing his priorities first with his wife and son as an excuse for his disappointing season even though the strain and anxiety were obvious to anyone paying even the slightest bit of attention. He put family first because that’s what quality humans do, and that year more than any in his Penske career proved that Will Power is one of the most real dudes in the INDYCAR SERIES paddock. I’m glad he’s sticking around with his new Andretti ride.