IndyCar champion Power to make IMSA debut in Daytona 24 with SunEnergy

The SunEnergy1 squad, owned by US-based Australian Kenny Habul, was recently locked in as the 61st entry for the opening round of the IMSA season.

Team Penske ace Power will share the GTD Mercedes with Habul, Fabian Schiller and two-time Dubai 24 Hours winner Axcil Jeffries for the endurance classic.

The event will mark Power's first appearance in the Daytona 24, the Aussie hoping to use it as a springboard for more endurance outings such in the Supercars Bathurst 1000 and Bathurst 12 Hour sportscar race.

A potential Bathurst 12 Hour berth in the future could come through Habul, with SunEnergy1 a regular at the event and the reigning winner from 2021.

“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 team-mates.

“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 won the 2021 Bathurst 12 Hour with Martin Konrad, Jules Gounon and Luca Stolz

Photo by: Edge Photographics

Habul said he expects Power to have little trouble getting up to speed in GT3 hardware.

“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,” he 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.

“Will and I have been friends since we raced Formula Ford against each other in the late 1990s 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 Indycars 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.”

Power's fellow Team Penske IndyCar racers Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin will also be contesting Daytona, sharing a Tower Motorsports LMP2 entry.

The Roar before the 24 will take place on 20-22 January followed by the race itself on 28-29 January.