"Extremely sad": Josef Newgarden gets real about Will Power's Team Penske exit

Josef Newgarden has opened up about his long-time teammate Will Power's exit from Team Penske. The 2018 Indy 500 announced parting ways with the Roger Penske-owned team on Tuesday, September 2, ending a 17-year partnership.

Newgarden, who joined Team Penske in 2017, was teammates with Power, who joined the team in 2009, for nine years. They shared countless on-track battles, a couple of which ended sourly, such as after the 2024 Bommarito Automotive 500, where an irate Will Power flipped off Josef Newgarden for causing a major accident during a restart.

But at the end of the day, the duo shared a great dynamic, which showed in Newgarden's reaction to Power leaving for Andretti Global. In a recent episode of the Speed Street podcast hosted by Conor Daly, the two-time Indy 500 winner said:

"I love Will. Like, absolutely love Will Power. You know, he's really not that much older. I mean, I guess he's 10 years older than me. But when I was growing up, we used to watch Champ Car back in the day. Like I loved Will Power. He was just always an incredible driver to watch. So it's been a true pleasure to be his teammate. I'm sad he's not going to be back next year, extremely sad," Newgarden said. [1:17:45 onwards]

Will Power will join Andretti Global in 2026 to replace Cadillac F1-bound Colton Herta in the No. 26 Honda. The two-time IndyCar champion will drive alongside Kyle Kirkwood and Marcus Ericsson, both of whom will be in their final years of their current IndyCar contracts in 2026.

Josef Newgarden claims he wouldn't have let Will Power leave Team Penske

Will Power was occasionally a controversial figure in the IndyCar paddock due to his unabashed comments and conflicts with his rivals. However, there was never a debate about the Australian driver's raw pace and talent, which earned him two championships, the 2018 Indy 500, a record 71 pole positions, and 45 race wins.

Josef Newgarden, who followed Power's journey growing up and witnessed it up close when they were teammates at Team Penske, shared a heartwarming message for him.

"If it was up to me, he (Power) wouldn't be going anywhere," Newgarden said. "That's just because I enjoy him so much as a teammate. We work well together. He's just as fast as he's ever been. I get to witness him every weekend. He's not lost any speed, and he's a heck of a character."

Will Power with Josef Newgarden at the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 - Source: Getty

The No. 2 Chevy driver also spoke about the "dichotomy" in Will Power's personality, adding:

"People that don't know Will, he's so unique and there's so much to him that people don't understand. He's a very sweet human being. He's one of the sweetest people I know in the world, like, got a tremendous heart, very empathetic, very emotional. He's very fiery. Like, he can want to punch your head off at one point, but then hug you 30 minutes later. So there's this dichotomy with him. He's so strange, and that's what I love about him."

For the first time in 10 years in 2026, Josef Newgarden will have Will Power as a complete rival rather than a teammate-rival.