Reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Will Power is taking on a new challenge in what for him will be a new event.
The 2018 winner of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge was confirmed Tuesday to join fellow Australian Kenny Habul in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the season-opening IMSA SportsCar Championship race Jan. 28-29 at Daytona International Speedway. This will be Power’s first attempt at the famed endurance race.
Power and Habul will share the No. 75 Sun Energy1 Racing Team’s Mercedes-AMG GT3 with Fabian Schiller and Axcil Jeffries in the GT Daytona (GTD) class which includes 25 entries from nine different manufacturers. Sun Energy1 became the 61st and final entry in the event.
The Roar Before the 24 test is Jan. 20-22.
“The Daytona 24 is an iconic event on the bucket list of most drivers, and I have to thank Kenny (Habul) for the opportunity,” Power said. “I am looking forward to driving the heavier GT car and getting experience for, hopefully, a lot more drives like this in the future, including the Bathurst 1000 and Bathurst 12-hour (race) back in Australia.”
Power joins a strong representation of NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers and teams in the event. Scott Dixon (Cadillac Racing/Chip Ganassi Racing), Colton Herta (BMW M Team RLL) and Simon Pagenaud and Helio Castroneves (Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian) will compete in the top class – GTP -- with Rinus VeeKay (TDS Racing), Devlin DeFrancesco (Rick Ware Racing) and Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin (Tower Motorsports) in LMP2. Romain Grosjean (Iron Lynx) will be in the GT Daytona Pro class with Kyle Kirkwood (Vasser Sullivan) joining Power in GT Daytona.
As part of winning his second NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship, Power earned a record-setting 68th career pole and scored his 41st career race win. The latter ranks five on the sport’s all-time list, one mark shy of Michael Andretti’s total in the fourth position. Power won his first series title in 2014.
“Will is a monster talent and a genuine person, and we look forward to him being a valuable contributor to our 24-hour campaign at Daytona,” Habul said. “He has a reputation of being fast in anything he drives, and I am sure he will be up to speed in our gear in no time.”
Power and Habul grew up near each other in Toowoomba and Surfers Paradise, respectively, and live near each other in North Carolina.
“It is quite funny when you look back at how Kenny and I raced Formula Ford against each other all those years ago and now we are going to be teammates,” Power said. “He chose a business route instead of chasing his racing dream and has obviously been incredibly successful.”
In 2022, Habul won his third Pro-Am drivers title in Intercontinental GT Challenge. His title-winning campaign included an outright victory in the Bathurst 12 Hour as well as second-place class finishes in the 24 Hours of Spa and the Indianapolis 8 Hour at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.