Power’s family touched by Australian floods

It's been an emotional last week for Will Power. Power's hometown of Toowoomba, Australia, a city located in Northeastern part of the country 80 miles west of Brisbane, and it, has been hit with torrential rains, a rare inland tsunami and destructive floods over the last week, causing wide spread property damage and killing as many as 15 people.

The international headlines surrounding the natural disaster near his family home area has drawn the attention of the IZOD IndyCar Series driver, who now lives near Team Penske's headquarters in North Carolina. Power kept track of his family's status through Facebook and with his Verizon phone. Power's parents own a canvas-making business in Toowoomba that was damaged. Fortunately, no one in the family was injured.

"The family business did suffer some damage due to the floods, but compared with many we got off pretty easy," said Power, who finished second in the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series driving the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car. "My family has been very fortunate in that their house is situated on high ground and their home escaped the ravages of the floods."

All three Team Penske drivers – Power, Sydney, Australia native Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves – have donated signed memorabilia to be auctioned off to raise funds to be given to flood victims.

A large area of Queensland, Australia has been affected by the floods in and around Toowoomba and towards the southeast in Brisbane, Australia. The clean-up efforts have really just begun in the region. Those wishing to contribute to the cause can do so by visiting http://telethon.smartservice.qld.gov.au/ – a site set up by the Queensland government to aid flood victims.