Imagine how odd it must have been for Will Power during Firestone’s two-car tire test Jan. 7 at Phoenix Raceway. It had been 272 races over 17 seasons since he drove for an NTT INDYCAR SERIES team other than Roger Penske’s, and on this day he was back in a Honda for the first time since 2011. Power had a new engineer, too, in Andy Listes.

Still, a cyclist knows how to hop on the bike. Ride, he certainly did.

“It’s funny (and) you feel very out of place,” Power said of Day 1 on track with Andretti Global. “But once you get in the car and get rolling it’s just like, ‘Oh, it’s an Indy car.’ You go through the same processes.”

Power reported no issues. In fact, he is ready for what’s next.

“Now we’ve got plenty of work to do,” he said.

Due to a contract with Team Penske, Power wasn’t allowed to join another team until Jan. 1, and he wasted no time doing so. About an hour after the calendar flipped, he posted a social media video cloaked in Andretti Global gear. Wednesday, he donned a helmet, too, strapping it squarely in place for the first time before climbing in the No. 26 entry.

Will Power

Power (photo, above) had spent a few days with Listes, an Andretti Global veteran engineer who guided Dennis Hauger to last year’s INDY NXT by Firestone championship. But he conceded that it will take time to learn the names of the other members of the organization also supporting Kyle Kirkwood and Marcus Ericsson.

“It’s the typical stuff, you know,” Power said. “I’m just trying to understand how everything works in this team – I’d been with Penske 17 years – it was just like second-nature (being there).

“You didn’t think about it, (but) now you have to get the steering wheel in the right position and the pedals, padding and just basic things like that.”

If it was odd for Power not to be in Team Penske’s Verizon colors, imagine how it was for Josef Newgarden, the other driver participating in Wednesday’s test.

When Power joined Team Penske in 2009 as Helio Castroneves’ stand-in during the Brazilian’s tax-evasion trial, Newgarden was competing in the British Formula Ford Championship. He was just 18 years old, and by the time Newgarden reached the INDYCAR SERIES in 2012, Power had already won 12 races for Penske over four seasons, finishing second in the series twice.

Newgarden joined Team Penske in 2017, and he and Power were teammates for nine seasons. In that span, they combined to win three championships and 45 races, including three Indianapolis 500s presented by Gainbridge. There is a generation of INDYCAR fans who have only known them together. They’re both in the sport’s top 10 in total career race wins, Power fourth with 45, Newgarden 10th with 32. Both won races last year.

Beginning with the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, a 100-lap race on Sunday, March 1, Power and Newgarden will be back to being rivals as they were when Newgarden drove for team owners Sarah Fisher and Ed Carpenter. Six days later, the sport’s two legends will be back at Phoenix Raceway, where Power has twice finished second (in 2016 and 2017) and Newgarden won in 2018.

Between now and then the two drivers, along with the rest of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES field, will be back at the 1-mile oval for an Open Test (Feb. 17-18).