IndyCar Champ Power Joins SunEnergy1 for Daytona

Photo: Team Penske

Reigning NTT IndyCar Series champion and former Indianapolis 500 winner Will Power will make his Rolex 24 at Daytona debut with fellow American-based Australian Kenny Habul as part of SunEnergy1 Racing’s lineup for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener.

The pair will share the No. 75 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo with Mercedes-AMG affiliated driver Fabian Schiller and fellow Silver-rated driver Axcil Jeffries in the GTD class.

Power, who is set for his sports car racing debut, is one of the most successful drivers in IndyCar history, with the Team Penske star having claimed titles in 2014 and 2020 while also winning the Indy 500 in 2018.

The 41-year-old grew up a few hours from Habul’s hometown of Surfers Paradise and the two raced against each other in the National Formula Ford Championship.

“The Daytona 24 is an iconic event on the bucket list of most drivers and I have to thank Kenny for the opportunity,” said Power.

“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 back in Australia.

“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.

“He chose a business route instead of chasing his racing dream and has obviously been incredibly successful. It has been great to watch him enjoy his racing later in life and actually improve as he gets older.

“Kenny obviously knows what it takes to be successful in business and is applying all those lessons to his racing – his win in the Bathurst 12-hour last year is proof of that.”

Habul, meanwhile, is set for his sixth Rolex 24 start as he seeks to improve on his runner-up GTD result in 2021.

The Bronze-rated driver had a year to remember in 2022, claiming his third Pro-Am drivers’ title in the Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli while also winning the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour outright.

“Will is a monster talent and genuine person and we look forward to him being a valuable contributor to our 24-hour campaign at Daytona,” said Habul.

“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.

“Will and I have been friends since we raced Formula Ford against each other in the late 90s and it is quite ironic that we now have houses only a few miles apart from each other in North Carolina.

“We stood on the podium together as kids, in the 1999 Formula Ford race at the Gold Coast IndyCar event, dreaming of racing Indy cars someday, Will made that dream happen and then some. I’m so proud of him.

“I think the mixture of myself, Will, Fabian and Axcil will be a competitive one and it would be nice to come away from the weekend with a Rolex watch.”

SunEnergy1 was granted the 61st and final entry to the race last week following the team’s application for a Michelin Endurance Cup entry that will see the orange-liveried Mercedes also contest the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen and Motul Petit Le Mans.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John