Eric Powell the most extraordinary perseverance story in WEC? The driver who went from Disney World stunt shows to the FIA World Endurance Championship

In motorsport, some stories arrive quickly. And some arrive when they are supposed to. Eric Powell’s story is definitively the latter. Born in Florida, United States, Powell has spent more than three decades connected to speed in one form or another. From the dirt oval karts of the WKA to touring cars, through almost a decade as a professional stunt driver for Walt Disney World, until finally reaching the goal of a lifetime: a seat in a factory-level GT car in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

“There’s like one word that pops in my head when I think about this,” Powell said when his WEC 2026 entry with Proton Competition was announced. “This might come off the wrong way to some people, but it’s finally. I’ve been racing for 30 years with one goal in mind: to be in a factory-level GT car.”

The beginnings: from dirt ovals to road racing and back

Powell started racing from the age of thirteen or fourteen, first in WKA dirt oval karts, then in conventional competition karts. He then made the move to stock cars, racing in the local FASCAR series in mini stocks and late models for several years. The kind of racing that generates no headlines but builds real drivers.

Wanting to improve his technical understanding of the car, he chose to study. He graduated from the Universal Technical Institute and then completed the NASCAR Technical Institute programme. The combination of knowing how to drive and knowing how to understand what was happening mechanically beneath the bodywork made him a more complete driver than most.

The Walt Disney World period: speed of a different kind

Before his competitive career reached international scale, Powell spent nearly a decade as a full-time stunt driver in the “Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show” at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. It was a car stunt show that demanded extreme precision, total vehicle control and the ability to execute the same exact manoeuvres again and again with millimetric consistency.

Far from being a detour, that period was an intense masterclass in car control that no conventional driving school could offer. The ability to operate at the limit without crossing it, under extreme and repeatable conditions, is precisely what defines a successful endurance racing driver.

Climbing the North American motorsport ladder

In 2006 Powell made the move into professional road racing, debuting in the Grand-Am Koni Challenge (later the IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge) and drawing immediate attention from his very first practice sessions. He won the Jim Russell Racing School championship after emerging from a shootout of nearly a hundred drivers, as the only participant who had never driven on that circuit or in those cars.

In subsequent years he explored multiple categories: tests with an American Le Mans Porsche GT2 programme, instruction at driving schools, private driver coaching, and competition across NASCAR’s national series. In 2014 he won the NASA Western States Championship in Performance Touring D, earning his invitation to the Mazda Road to 24 Shootout.

Years later, with significantly more experience accumulated, he took the step into GT3 competition: in 2025 he contested a full IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season with Victor Gonzalez Racing in the TCR class, then added a campaign with Dollahite Racing in GT World Challenge America mid-season. It was in that environment that the international endurance world began seriously taking note.

2026: the WEC and a date with destiny

For 2026, Proton Competition placed him in the number 77 Ford Mustang GT3 Evo alongside veteran Sebastien Priaulx and the reliable Ben Tuck. The team, running under the Ford Racing banner, aims to make a competitive step forward with the updated Evo package in the WEC’s LMGT3 class.

Powell approaches the season with a mix of conscious humility and sustained ambition. He knows that most circuits on the WEC calendar are new to him. He knows the jump from IMSA or GT World Challenge to global endurance competition has its particularities. But he also knows that he has spent thirty years preparing for exactly this moment, even if he never knew it by that exact name.

The season opened with the 6 Hours of Imola. The Powell-Tuck-Priaulx trio finished tenth in the LMGT3 classification, scoring the first championship point of the season. A beginning. Not the result they dream of, but the first point of contact with the highest level of global endurance motorsport. Eric Powell’s story is still being written.

TIMELINE

Circa 1984
Born in Florida, United States. Grows up in Orlando.

Circa 1997–1998
Begins racing karts at age 13-14. WKA dirt oval karting and conventional competition karts.

2000s
Competes in local FASCAR series in mini stocks and late models. Graduates from Universal Technical Institute and NASCAR Technical Institute programme.

~2006–2015
Full-time stunt driver at Walt Disney World’s “Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show” in Orlando. Nearly a decade of precision car stunt work.

2006
Professional road racing debut in the Grand-Am Koni Challenge. Wins Jim Russell Racing School shootout against nearly 100 drivers.

2014
NASA Western States Championship winner in Performance Touring D. Invited to Mazda Road to 24 Shootout.

2020
Competes in IMSA WeatherTech Championship with Gar Robinson and Bill Riley.

2025
Full season in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with Victor Gonzalez Racing in TCR. Second half of season with Dollahite Racing in GT World Challenge America.

2026
Joins Proton Competition / Ford Racing #77 for the FIA WEC. Teammates: Sebastien Priaulx and Ben Tuck. Ford Mustang GT3 Evo. Season opener: 6 Hours of Imola, tenth in LMGT3, one point scored.

KEY QUOTES

• “There’s like one word that pops in my head. This might come off the wrong way to some people, but it’s finally. I’ve been racing for 30 years with one goal in mind, to be in a factory-level GT car.”
  Eric Powell — Daily Sports Car, April 2026
• “I’m incredibly excited to kick off the WEC season at Imola. The wait has been long, but it’s given me even more time to prepare. Having access to Ford’s simulator in Charlotte has given me a massive head start. I’d describe my outlook as cautiously optimistic.”
  Eric Powell — Ford Racing, 6 Hours of Imola preview, April 2026

CURIOSITIES

• Spent nearly a decade as a full-time stunt driver in Walt Disney World’s “Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show” in Orlando, Florida.
• Trained at the Universal Technical Institute and the NASCAR Technical Institute programme to deepen his mechanical understanding of race cars.
• Won the Jim Russell Racing School shootout as the only participant who had never driven on that circuit or in those cars before the event.
• Never had ambitions for prototypes or F1. His dream was always specific: a factory-level GT car. The WEC in 2026 was exactly that.
• His technical knowledge of the car, combined with years of precision stunt driving, made him valued by engineers for his highly accurate mechanical feedback.
• With over 30 years of competitive racing across multiple disciplines, Powell is one of the most experienced and career-diverse drivers in the 2026 WEC LMGT3 paddock.

It took Eric Powell 30 years to reach exactly where he always wanted to be. Do you think his story in the WEC with Ford and Proton Competition is the most exciting in the paddock in 2026, or do you know of another motorsport career that rivals his in terms of perseverance? Share your opinion in the comments.

Sources: fordracing.com, dailysportscar.com, racer.com, dive-bomb.com, dailysportscar.com, autohebdof1.com, racerconnect.com, mazdamotorsports.com, racer.com, techsportracing.com, racecarcoaches.com