IndyCar insider gives "sad" Will Power contract update as Team Penske reportedly readies to promote David Malukas

IndyCar reporter Marshall Pruett has shared that Team Penske replacing Will Power with David Malukas for 2026 seems imminent. Pruett recently spoke about a conversation he had with a member of the IndyCar paddock, which "wasn't on the record," about Power's future with Penske, which made him "sad."

Power is in the last year of his contract with Team Penske. However, the Roger Penske-owned team has left him in the dark about his future. The two-time IndyCar champion has been the team's best-performing driver out of three, but he won't know his contract situation until the season finale in Nashville from August 29 to 31.

Team Penske might replace him with David Malukas, who currently drives for AJ Foyt Racing. Marshall Pruett discussed the contract situation on his podcast, The Marshall Pruett Podcast. He spoke about the conversation with the unnamed figure in the paddock, explaining how Penske has never hired unproven drivers, those without any poles or wins in the last four decades.

This trend would change with the signing of Malukas for 2026. The 23-year-old has secured three podiums in IndyCar, but a race win remains elusive. Pruett revealed the truth from his conversation, which took place after Will Power's win at the Portland GP.

"The concept of bringing in somebody in the discipline with zero wins, zero poles, as fully expect to happen with David Malukas... Just mentioning that yeah, this isn't something that the team has traditionally done.....The response I got was one that made me sad and made me fully acknowledge, yeah, change is gonna happen. None of that's official. There was no secret. Here's the real answer of what's going on and when. None of that. This is just me taking a response to something I said, which wasn't to try and get a secret answer, but it just came out in a way where I was like, 'Oh, okay. There we go.'

So yeah, makes no sense to me. You aren't cutting the lowest-performing person on the roster. You are saying farewell to the highest-performing person on the roster. The one with 45 wins now and 71 poles," Pruett said [8:15 onwards].

Will Power holds the record for most pole positions in IndyCar history, with 71 to his name. Moreover, he secured his 45th race win in the series at the recent Grand Prix of Portland. It gave Team Penske its first win of the season, ending a horrible streak of misfortune. Despite being at the top of his game, the Aussie doesn't seem to be the team's priority.

This has baffled many current and former IndyCar drivers. 2003 champion Paul Tracy couldn't understand Team Penske's delay in the potential contract renewal. 2016 Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi was on the same boat, and so was veteran driver Graham Rahal.

David Malukas has shown his strengths this year with AJ Foyt Racing. He has performed brilliantly in qualifying and also earned a podium finish at the 109th Indy 500. Moreover, reports suggest he is already on a Team Penske contract, with the team choosing to field him in an AJFR entry. This should make his promotion easier than normal.

Will Power could find a new home at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Graham Rahal with Will Power at the IndyCar Java House Grand Prix of Monterey - Source: Getty

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is reportedly interested in signing Will Power for the 2026 IndyCar season if Team Penske lets him go. Veteran driver Graham Rahal, whose father Bobby Rahal is part-owner of the team, recently expressed his feelings about Power's situation.

After the 44-year-old's Portland GP victory, Rahal said:

"I don't know where Will goes. I don't know what Will does. But all I can say is there's not many guys better in this series than Will Power. If I were Team Penske, I don't think I would let him go. But that's just me.

He's been better than his teammates the last couple of years. You can't say any opposite of that. I think Scotty Mac in particular is as top-tier of a talent as there is in the world. For Will to do what he is doing is very impressive for an old man. Gives all of us hope."

Going into the race weekend at Portland, Graham Rahal had stated that Will Power would be a "great asset" for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. However, he didn't want to get ahead of himself in revealing RLL's interest in signing him before Team Penske announced its decision.

As per Indy Star, Power could replace Devlin DeFrancesco, should RLL activate certain clauses in the Canadian driver's multi-year contract to cut it short.