Will Power made a fresh start to the 2026 season with Andretti Global, but he has been through some very stressful events off the racing track.

Ahead of the race at Nashville, Power spoke to Bob Pockrass about his father, Bob Power, who recently suffered a heart attack while swimming in Australia, just four days before the Indianapolis 500. The driver was informed that his father was in a coma shortly before the race, and he had to go into the next few races knowing that. 

He told Pockrass, “I remember actually thinking about him in the race. Just had that exact thought, going to turn two, I just know the exact spot. 

So it was really on my mind there, Detroit and so on and so on until eventually I was able to have a conversation with him on the phone and started to go, well, you know, at first you can hardly hear him talk and all that, but then more recently I'm like he's back to normal, like he's walking, he's talking, he's obviously in rehab but I think he's going to be perfectly fine.”

In the clip shared by Pockrass on X, Will said that his father had drowned face-first, and by some miracle, the only other person swimming in the pool was someone who used to be a police officer and a paramedic. 

After he was resuscitated, he was airlifted to a hospital, and he went into a coma. Will had feared Bob might have suffered brain damage and might not wake up from the coma, but thankfully, Bob survived and is now out of the coma.  

Bob used to be an open-wheel racer and is best known for competing in the Australian Formula Ford and Formula 2 championships from the late 1960s through the 1980s. He was also recently in the news for having survived a carjacking attempt. 

Meanwhile, an active driver has also recently suffered a scare at the race track. 

David Malukas hospitalized after crash at Nashville Superspeedway

During Practice 1, the No.12 Team Penske driver lost control while entering Turn 2, resulting in a spin and then hitting the outer wall. 

According to the video footage shared by the official IndyCar handle on YouTube, his knee knocked off the steering wheel column. The safety team was quick to reach him, and he was soon taken to the hospital afterwards. 

The official IndyCar handle soon shared an update on X that Malukas was conscious and undergoing evaluation. 

Malukas was already due for a penalty following an unapproved engine change, and it is unclear whether Team Penske will switch to a backup car or not. 

Read more at Motor Culture 

Written by

Aaradhya Singh

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason