Will Power explains Christmas in Toowoomba, Australia (VIDEO)

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Christmas is a special time everywhere but depending on the locale, the traditions of the season can be rather unique. Just ask Team Penske’s Will Power, who hails from Toowoomba, Australia – a place that has its own ways of celebrating the holiday.

For example, instead of chestnuts, Power maintains that he and his loved ones in Toowoomba roast bits of crocodile over an open fire before having a race into town on kangaroos. Naturally, Power’s own ‘roo is a fast one.

“He’s actually over six feet,” Power says in the IndyCar clip above. “It’s a six-foot big red and his name’s Steve. He’s good fun. Usually, he kicks all the other guys…My brothers are riding them.”

Power then shifts into what he would get his teammates and bosses at Team Penske if he were Santa Claus. For Helio Castroneves and Juan Pablo Montoya, he would put a bottle of “Touch of Gray” hair color in their stockings, reasoning that the look might be “sophisticated” but “not as fast on the track.”

And for Penske president Tim Cindric and team owner Roger Penske? “I’d give them whatever they want, because I want the best stuff,” Power said, presumably referring to his No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet.

You should probably have figured out by now that this is all just a bit of holiday humor on Power and IndyCar’s part. But it’s appreciated nonetheless.

SuperMotocross set to introduce Leader Lights beginning with the World Championship finals

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In a continuing effort to help fans keep track of the on track action, SuperMotocross is in the process of developing and implementing leader lights for the unified series.

Currently Supercross (SMX) utilizes stanchions in the infield that are triggered manually by a race official. At least two stanchions are used in each race as a way to draw the eye to the leader, which is especially useful in the tight confines of the stadium series when lapping often begins before the halfway mark in the 22-bike field. This system has been in place for the past two decades.

Later this year, a fully automated system will move to the bike itself to replace the old system. At that point, fans will be able to identify the leader regardless of where he is on track.

The leader lights were tested in the second Anaheim round this year. An example can be seen at the 1:45 mark in the video above on the No. 69 bike.

“What we don’t want to do is move too fast, where it’s confusing to people,” said Mike Muye, senior director of operations for Supercross and SMX in a press release. “We’ve really just focused on the leader at this point with the thought that maybe down the road we’ll introduce others.”

Scheduled to debut with the first SuperMotocross World Championship race at zMax Dragway, located just outside the Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 3D carbon fiber-printed LED light will be affixed to each motorcycle. Ten timing loops positioned around the track will trigger the lights of the leader, which will turn green.

SMX’s partner LiveTime Scoring helped develop and implement the system that has been tested in some form or fashion since 2019.

When the leader lights are successfully deployed, SuperMotocross will explore expanding the system to identify the second- and third-place riders. Depending on need and fan acceptance, more positions could be added.

SuperMotocross is exploring future enhancements, including allowing for live fan interaction with the lights and ways to use the lighting system during the race’s opening ceremony.