Will Power believes Andretti Global is starting to remove its weaknesses after he claimed another podium in the 2026 IndyCar race in Washington.
Power finished third on the streets of Washington, D.C., completing the podium behind IndyCar race winner Kyle Kirkwood and Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard. His result came after a race shaped by cautions, strategy calls, traffic and late restarts, with Kirkwood taking a commanding victory while Alex Palou’s difficult afternoon tightened the championship picture.
Power had to fight through the field during the race. He passed Josef Newgarden to move into eighth, then continued to emerge as a podium threat as the strategy picture unfolded. He made his final stop with 32 laps remaining, but time lost behind Romain Grosjean before pitting left him fourth once the sequence settled.
However, Scott McLaughlin’s late crash on a restart promoted Power into the top three. The Penske driver had attempted to challenge Kirkwood into Turn 1 but hit the tyre barrier heavily, bringing out another full course yellow. That left Kirkwood leading from Lundgaard, Power and Marcus Ericsson for the final restart.
After the race, Power said Andretti’s progress had become clear across the second half of the season.
“Yeah, that first yellow kind of hurt us. Man, even at that point you have so many laps to go, you’re still over a hundred laps to go, we can certainly make a lot work from here. I saved a lot of fuel. I probably would have gone three laps longer than the guys around me,” he said.
“A lot of on-track passes, to be honest, to move up. Good strategy. Good stops. It’s just becoming normal for us to do this. We’re starting to eliminate all the weaknesses and be strong everywhere and have a chance to win everywhere.
“Team’s made huge progression over this season, and you can see it now. It’s all coming online. I think the expectation now every weekend is to be on the podium, challenge for a win.
“I think next year we’ll be wanting to be all top five in the championship type stuff.”
Power targets strong finish to 2026
The Washington podium also continued Andretti’s strong form on street circuits. Kirkwood controlled the race at the front, while Power and Ericsson both moved forward as the team again looked competitive on a new street layout.
Asked what the final races meant for Andretti as the team looked to carry momentum into 2027, Power said the target had already been made clear internally.
“It will be interesting the next three races for us. I feel like we should be pretty good at Milwaukee. You never know in INDYCAR, it’s so competitive. Slightly outside the window, you could struggle.
“Yeah, finishing how Ron Ruzewski told me how we need to finish, which is basically second half of the year be the points leader or be right there or be the strongest team. That’s exactly what we’re doing.”
“It was everything you’d want”
Although Kirkwood led most of the race, there was action throughout the field. The IndyCar race in Washington featured 155 on-track passes, with Power making the most of any driver with 13.
Power felt the racing matched the occasion, especially with the event taking place in the United States capital.
“It was racy. You could pass. A lot of my positions were gained just on-track passes. It was everything you’d want. Having an American president here watching the whole race, still there when I pulled up on the grid, you could see President Trump still watching, which meant that the race must have been pretty engaging, which is really good stuff. Great for the series.”
Power on Kirkwood’s championship fight
Kirkwood’s victory came on a day when Palou’s race unravelled. The championship leader received a drive-through penalty after striking a tyre from Mick Schumacher’s pit box, then lost further time with a wheel issue before later returning to the pits with damage.
That allowed Kirkwood to take a significant chunk out of Palou’s championship advantage. Asked what advice he would give Kirkwood during his first title fight, Power said the American had to keep chasing victories.
“Well, where he stands, he has nothing to lose but go for absolute wins. So taking risk on strategy, maybe some risk on track.
“Yeah, 90 points is a pretty big chunk to try to get back to, yeah.”
Power praises IndyCar’s international appeal
Kirkwood’s win gave the home crowd an American driver on the top step, while Denmark’s Lundgaard and Australia’s Power completed the podium.
Power said that mix reflected one of IndyCar’s biggest strengths, with drivers from different backgrounds able to compete on equal terms.
“I said it forever, it’s such a great series from that perspective. You have so many different nationalities in there. It’s a very friendly paddock,” he stated.
“What do we have, eight American drivers. A third of the field is American. When I joined the series 20 years ago, that was one of the things that they were trying really hard to do, it get some top-level American drivers. That’s exactly what we have now.
“It is probably the most rewarding, enjoyable series to race in, I would say, because anyone can win. The racing is tremendous. I would say the tracks, the disciplines you’ve got to have on all these different tracks, yeah.
“I think INDYCAR is in the best shape it’s ever been in since I’ve been in the series. That’s 21 years. It’s just progressively gone up. More recently it’s taken a big step. Really proud to be a part of it.”
