Team Penske's Will Power wedding news 2010-12-21

POWER MARRIES LONGTIME GIRLFRIEND ELIZABETH CANNON IN HAWAII

Coming off the best IZOD IndyCar Series season of his career, Verizon Team Penske driver Will Power is also enjoying a pretty memorable offseason. On Friday, December 17, Power married his longtime girlfriend, Elizabeth Cannon (now Power), in Maui, Hawaii.

Power first met Cannon, who hails from Texas, when he came to the United States from his native Australia to race in 2006. The two worked together at Walker Racing and they began their courtship inside the high-speed world of open-wheel racing. Cannon now works as a public relations representative for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in the IZOD IndyCar Series while Power has established himself as one of the rising stars of motorsports following a runner-up finish in the 2010 series championship.

After getting engaged last year around the holidays, the happy couple settled on Hawaii for their wedding since it was roughly the midway point for both of their families to attend the ceremony and celebration. While both Power and Cannon were busy with their respective jobs in the IZOD IndyCar Series this past year, Cannon's mother, Kathy, did a lot of the planning for the wedding.

The festivities officially got underway on Wednesday, December 15 as the couple welcomed their guests with cocktails at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa on Kaanapali Beach. The following day, Power and Cannon held their wedding rehearsal and dinner for all of their guests at the Old Lahaina Luau.

While Cannon spent most of Friday getting ready for the ceremony, Power hosted a snorkel cruise for all of his groomsmen. The ceremony took place at 4 pm local time, right around Maui's beautiful sunset, in the Hyatt Regency's Statue Gardens. Approximately 100 guests were in attendance, including several from the IndyCar world. Power's Team Penske teammate Ryan Briscoe and his wife Nicole were on hand, just one year after they were also married in Hawaii. Penske Racing President Tim Cindric also attended the wedding, along with IndyCar driver Alex Tagliani and his wife Bronte and Rob Edwards, General Manager of the FAZZT race team.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, all of the guests joined the reception, which was held beachside on the Napili Lawn of the Hyatt Regency. Following dinner, first dances and the cake cutting ceremony, everyone moved inside to the Hyatt ballroom. The party lasted until the wee hours of the morning and Power and his three brothers kept the crowd entertained with some slick break dancing moves.

"It was fantastic," said Power, who led the IZOD IndyCar Series with five wins and a record eight poles in 2010. "I had a very good time getting to be there with our family and friends and marry my girl. We had a blast! Liz's mom (Kathy Cannon) planned the entire wedding and couldn't have done a better job. We were able to kick back, relax and had an amazing time. Now we are honeymooning and then I'll be getting straight back into fitness for next season."

Power will return to action in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Honda in 2011 looking to defend his Mario Andretti Road Course championship and once again fight for the overall IZOD IndyCar Series title.

-source: team penske