{"id":282695,"date":"2023-04-02T01:50:20","date_gmt":"2023-04-02T01:50:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=282695"},"modified":"2023-04-02T16:00:17","modified_gmt":"2023-04-02T16:00:17","slug":"larrikins-journey-from-forklift-driver-to-racing-champ","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=282695","title":{"rendered":"Larrikin's journey from forklift driver to racing champ"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Will Power<\/a> left school at just 15 years old to drive forklifts in a warehouse, he never thought he'd one day be one of world motorsport's most respected drivers.<\/p>\n

Fresh off winning his second IndyCar Series<\/a> crown, Team Penske has re-signed Power on a multi-year deal.<\/p>\n

It continues a stretch with the team dating back to 2009 when Power made his debut for the team in St Petersburg, where he finished sixth.\ufeff<\/p>\n

Stan Sport is the only place to watch the 2023 IndyCar Series, featuring Will Power, Scott McLaughlin and Scott Dixon.<\/strong><\/em> All the action streaming ad free, live and on demand<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

It's an incredible achievement for the Toowoomba-born terror, who at 42 years old is still as competitive as ever and has shown age is no obstacle.<\/p>\n

\"Will<\/p>\n

Power recently spoke about not knowing what he would do if he wasn't racing and indicated retirement wasn't something he had even considered.<\/p>\n

He said the thought of life outside of racing was a scary one, which he hasn't had to live since he was a teenager.<\/p>\n

"I had a real job, so I know the other side," said Power.\u00a0<\/p>\n

READ MORE: \ufeff<\/strong>Little-known Aussie's splurge after $1.5m payday<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE: \ufeff<\/strong>'Six or seven' bolters tipped for first Eddie squad<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE: \ufeff<\/strong>Legend reveals status amid old foe's diagnosis<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

"I actually worked. I left school when I was 15. I started working, I was working in a warehouse, started driving forklifts and picking orders in a confectionary warehouse and then I did an apprenticeship for four years as a canvas goods manufacturer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"I do understand the other side, and the other side isn't that bad, it's actually pretty good, but this is amazing. That's why I'm so lucky.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"No matter what happens on race days as far as where you finish, man, to do this and get paid \u2013 amazing."<\/p>\n

\"Will<\/p>\n

News of Power's contract extension came out of the blue, especially given Team Penske typically reserves driver signing announcements until the end of the season.<\/p>\n

IndyCar's most successful qualifier \u2013 with 68 in the bag \u2013 said it's an honour to continue racing with one of the sport's best.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"I always look back, and I say it often, I am very fortunate because it's where you want to be as a driver in a team where you're given a car week in, week out," said Power.<\/p>\n

"I'm very, very fortunate in that respect."<\/p>\n

\"Will<\/p>\n

Most importantly, it gives Power piece of mind that his future in IndyCar is safe.<\/p>\n

It contrasts his early years of racing when he juggled drives and short-term contracts that left him constantly fighting for his right to drive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"It blows my mind if I look back on it," he said.<\/p>\n

"Certainly, in those early days, you were wondering at Christmas what you're doing the next year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"It's a real privilege to have that, know that you're going to get signed for multiple years and be in a consistent situation with the same crew, same engineer for multiple years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"They're the things that create you a situation to win championships. I'm lucky for that."<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/IndyCar\/status\/1642221972401577985<\/a><\/p>\n

Power will be back in action at Texas Motors Speedway on Monday when the IndyCar Series takes in round two.<\/p>\n

He will start the 250-lap race from eighth on the grid while teammates Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin<\/a> will start fourth and 15th respectively.<\/p>\n

McLaren's Felix Rosenqvist starts from pole position alongside Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon.\ufeff<\/p>\n

Coverage is live, ad-free, and exclusively on Stan Sport from 2am AEST.<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>!\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Will Power left school at just 15 years old to drive forklifts in a warehouse, he never thought he'd one day be one of […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282695"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=282695"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282695\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":282697,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282695\/revisions\/282697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=282695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=282695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=282695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}