By Andrew Cutler
January 13 2009

In light of Helio Castroneves' impending (March 2) tax evasion case, Team Penske has decided to fill his race seat - at least for the duration of his trial. It will be officially announced later today that lucky recipient of this ride will be Will Power, who drove for the KV Racing Technology squad in 2008.

"We remain hopeful that Helio's situation will have a positive outcome and the team is fully behind him," team president Tim Cindric said in a press release. "While Helio prepares for his court case, we're excited to welcome (Power) to the team. Will has already proved that he's a terrific racer, and we think he's going to be a good fit with Team Penske."

There was no statement as of yet from Power or Castroneves, but both are expected to be at the press conference. It is unclear at this point if Power will retain the ride for the whole of the 2009 season should Helio be found guilty and sentenced to jail time, or if Team Penske would offer him a seat in a third car should Helio be aquitted and become able to go back to work.

With Power joining Ryan Briscoe at Team Penske, I wonder how many people will start calling it "Team Aussie"?