Will Power won the pole for Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the season opening race for the Verizon IndyCar Series. Photo by Chris Jones
Team Penske swept the top four positions in the Firestone Fast Six, led by Verizon P1 Award winner Will Power, during qualifications for Sunday’s Verizon IndyCar Series season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
The reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion recorded a lap of 1 minute, 0.6931 of a second in the 10-minute session on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn St. Petersburg temporary street circuit in the competition debut of aerodynamic bodywork supplied by Chevrolet and Honda.
In the first two rounds of qualifying, Power set and reset the track record that Sebastien Bourdais (1:00.928) held since the inaugural St. Pete Indy car race in 2003. Power lowered the standard to 1:00.8344 in Round 1 and bettered it with a lap of 1:00.6509 in Round 2. Had he had a clean lap in the waning seconds of the Firestone Fast Six, the driver of the No. 1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet said he likely would have made it three in a row.
It was the 37th career pole (sixth on the all-time pole wins list) for Power, who previously was the top qualifier at St. Petersburg in 2010-13. He won the race in 2010 and again in 2014 on the way to his first series championship.
First-year Team Penske driver Simon Pagenaud was 0.0321 of a second behind Power in the Firestone Fast Six to qualify second. Helio Castroneves, the only three-time race winner at St. Petersburg, qualified third (1:00.8356) and Juan Pablo Montoya was fourth (1:00.8532).
“It was tight. Full credit to the team. I’m stoked to get pole,” said Power, who won from the fourth starting position in his 2014 series championship season. “It just shows the work we’ve done over the winter. It’s four good drivers that will battle it out.
“Team Penske has definitely made ground over the winter over the other teams. I think it’s going to be a pretty interesting four-way battle amongst the team and Scott Dixon is right in there as well. I expect those five to be the championship contenders.”
Takuma Sato, who earned the Verizon P1 Award in 2014 with a lap of 1:01.8668 in the Firestone Fast Six driving the No. 14 ABC Supply A.J. Foyt Racing car, was the quickest qualifier of the Honda contingent in fifth (1:01.1496) and Bourdais qualified sixth (1:01.1545) in the No. 11 Team Hydroxycut-KVSH Racing Chevrolet.
Stefano Coletti qualified 17th in the No. 4 KV Racing Technology Chevrolet as the top rookie.
Power Makes It Two On Monument, Looks For Three
Will Power affixed a plaque bearing his name to the Victory Circle monument near turn 10 of the St. Petersburg track Saturday and promptly pointed to the next available space on the granite block.
“My name is on there twice now. Let’s see if I can make it three,” said Power, who added the new plaque commemorating his victory in the 2014 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg after winning the 2010 race.
A Buckshot By Any Other Name
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports driver James Jakes is British, by way of Leeds, England. But now, thanks to his team, he has “a good, old-fashioned, American” nickname.
“They call me ‘Buckshot,'” Jakes said with a laugh as he pointed out the corresponding sticker on the rear of his helmet. “It just came out of nowhere.”
In his previous Verizon IndyCar Series seasons from 2011-13, Jakes was informally known as “Jakesy.” Now, with James Hinchcliffe as his teammate and both sharing the same first name, something had to change.
“With two Jameses flying around, the engineers thought it would get complicated,” Jakes said. “My engineer (Dan Hobbs) has a NASCAR background and thought it would fit.”
The Captain Is Ready For Season To Set Sail
Thus, the drug super viagra for sale helps to make the prescription. These risks can be avoided by keeping blood sugar levels well controlled buying levitra in canada three to six months before you become pregnant. What Do You Gain with Kamagra? – Strong and steady emotional special info cialis free sample set up. The doctor would be examining you to make sure that you are not allergic to any of the ingredients in the cheap viagra order Gold Max range of herbal supplements. Roger Penske is the winningest owner in Indy car history, with 174 race victories that include 15 Indianapolis 500 triumphs. Even with all that success behind him, the Team Penske owner is excited for what looms ahead this season.
“With the new aero kits creating a different look and feel for the cars, there is a lot of energy and anticipation around the start of the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series,” Penske said. “We know how competitive the series has been in recent years and with some talented young drivers added to the mix this year, it has all the elements to be a very exciting season. This is the first time we will run four cars at Team Penske, with Simon Pagenaud joining Helio (Castroneves), Will (Power), the series champion, and Juan (Montoya), we know the level of competition will be even higher among our own team. After a long offseason, we are all definitely ready for the green flag at St. Petersburg.”
Karam On The Mend
Sage Karam, competing in his second Verizon IndyCar Series race this weekend, is still recovering from a hand injury suffered March 16 during the preseason Promoter Test at Barber Motorsports Park. Karam said he felt “about 90 percent” in the seat of the No. 8 GE LED Chip Ganassi Racing Teams Chevrolet on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn St. Petersburg street circuit.
Verizon IndyCar Series
St. Petersburg Street Circuit – St. Petersburg, FL
Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Qualifying – March 28, 2015
1. (1) Will Power, Dallara-Chevy, 01:00.6931 (106.767)
2. (22) Simon Pagenaud, Dallara-Chevy, 01:00.7252 (106.710)
3. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Chevy, 01:00.8356 (106.517)
4. (2) Juan Pablo Montoya, Dallara-Chevy, 01:00.8532 (106.486)
5. (14) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 01:01.1496 (105.970)
6. (11) Sebastien Bourdais, Dallara-Chevy, 01:01.1545 (105.961)
7. (10) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Chevy, 01:01.1182 (106.024)
8. (28) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 01:01.1670 (105.939)
9. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Chevy, 01:01.2285 (105.833)
10. (67) Josef Newgarden, Dallara-Chevy, 01:01.2478 (105.800)
11. (25) Simona de Silvestro, Dallara-Honda, 01:01.3657 (105.596)
12. (27) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 01:01.4765 (105.406)
13. (83) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Chevy, 01:01.5727 (105.241)
14. (26) Carlos Munoz, Dallara-Honda, 01:01.4890 (105.385)
15. (15) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 01:01.5742 (105.239)
16. (5) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Honda, 01:01.5780 (105.232)
17. (4) Stefano Coletti, Dallara-Chevy, 01:01.6727 (105.071)
18. (8) Sage Karam, Dallara-Chevy, 01:01.8011 (104.853)
19. (20) Luca Filippi, Dallara-Chevy, 01:01.6736 (105.069)
20. (7) James Jakes, Dallara-Honda, 01:01.8323 (104.800)
21. (41) Jack Hawksworth, Dallara-Honda, 01:02.0095 (104.500)
22. (98) Gabby Chaves, Dallara-Honda, 01:01.9705 (104.566)
23. (19) Francesco Dracone, Dallara-Honda, 01:04.2654 (100.832)
24. (18) Carlos Huertas, Dallara-Honda, 01:01.9716 (104.564)
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