Will Power wins pole for GP of Indianapolis

Will Power

It's a NEWWWW TRAAACKKKK RECORDDDD! Will Power set a new track record in Session 2, then broke it in Session 3 to take the Pole for the 2015 Grand Prix of Indianapolis. The record is now 1:09:4886 for the road course.

It was a sweep of the Fast Six for the Penske and Ganassi teams, with Scott Dixon qualifying second. Helio Castroneves, and Juan Pablo Montoya will start in the second row, and Simon Pagenaud and Tony Kanaan in the third row

The fastest Honda qualifier of the day was Jack Hawksworth, who will start in the 11th spot. Andretti Motorsports drivers will start 24th (Marco Andretti), 21st (Carlos Munoz), 19th (Hunter-Reay) and 18th (Justin Wilson).

Tony Kanaan commented after qualifications that he thinks that tire wear will come into play in tomorrow's race, which is why he didn't put in a bigger attempt in the Fast Six. "Once I made the Fast Six I knew I wasn't going anywhere."

"Congratulations to Will Power and his Team Penske No.1 Chevrolet crew on winning the pole today at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis in a convincing manner, setting a new track record in the process," said Chris Berube, Chevrolet Racing Program Manager for Verizon IndyCar Series.

"What a great way to kick off the month of May with this 2nd running of the fast and flowing road course here at IMS. This circuit is rapidly becoming a favorite among the drivers and hopefully for the fans as well. It is great to be in Indianapolis and have the opportunity to compete with both aero kit configurations in back to back races during the month, which is part of what makes the Verizon IndyCar Series so unique and exciting."

The weather forecast for tomorrow's race is more optimistic than it was this time yesterday. Forecasts now call for a 50% chance of thunderstorms at race time, down from 80%. High temp is to be somewhere near 80 degrees, which would also be cooler than the practice sessions. All agree that if it rains then the Chevy advantage goes away.

Simon Pagenaud

Pagenaud (1:09.8715) and Tony Kanaan (1:10.2772) will be on Row 3.

The top-10 cars are Chevy powered with Chevy aero kits. Honda is out to lunch.

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]Today marks Power’s first-career Verizon P1 Pole Award at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

This is Power’s 12th career pole award on a closed road course.

Power’s last pole win was at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 28, 2015. This is his second of the 2015 season.

Power has now 38 Verizon P1 Pole Awards in his career, sixth on the all-time list.

Power will be seeking his first career win at Barber.

This is the eighth-consecutive Verizon P1 Pole Award win for Team Penske dating back to the Milwaukee Mile last season.

Sebastian Saavedra claimed the Verizon P1 Award in 2014 with a lap of 1:23.8822 in wet/drying conditions.

Simon Pagenaud heads to Saturday looking for a repeat victory in the Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis. He qualified fifth in the No. 22 DeVilbiss Chevrolet.

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]This year, he is with a new team – Team Penske – giving the 30-year-old native of Montmorillon, France, confidence to repeat amidst a deep field. So far, the Verizon IndyCar Series has produced four winners from four different teams this season, including Pagenaud's teammate Juan Pablo Montoya in the opener at St. Petersburg.

In 2014's inaugural race on the IMS road course, he took the lead with five laps left and held off Ryan Hunter-Reay by 0.8906 of second at the finish.

"I had the key to success last year, but that doesn't mean you have the key to success this year, because it's all about competition here," Pagenaud said. "Every day, you have to reset and try again. Obviously, I have a lot of confidence. It's a track I like. We should be in good shape."

As part of the Penske stable – which has won the Indianapolis 500 15 times – Pagenaud is also looking toward later in the month and a try at becoming the first driver to win both Month of May races at IMS.

"That's my personal dream. It's something I really want to accomplish," Pagenaud said. "I'm in the team to do so. I have everything I need to make it happen."

QUOTES

WILL POWER, NO. 1 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, POLE WINNER – TRACK RECORD – 01:09:4886: “Actually surprised me on old tires there in the Fast Six, the time that I laid down. It just shows the team has done a great job with the car. All teammates in the Fast Six, too. We're pushing each other hard. Got the Ganassi boys there knocking on the door all the time. Got our work cut out for us. Just really happy to be on pole. Qualifying's a day where you put absolutely everything on the line. It's my favorite part of the weekend. Well, no, actually it's winning on Saturday or Sunday is definitely my favorite part.

“It’s huge… very big. It’s one down and three sessions where I want to be P1 to go: the Grand Prix tomorrow, qualifying for the oval and obviously the 500."

YOU HAD THREE OTHER TEAMMATES TO BATTLE FOR THE POLE TODAY. “It’s great. We all have the same cars, same equipment and everything, so it’s always great to get one up on your teammates. But they’ve all helped to evolve the car, and the reason we’re all in the Fast Six is because we work together. It’s a great team effort all around, and I’m really happy to see the Verizon Chevrolet at the top."

SCOTT DIXON, NO. 9 TARGET CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 2^ND; “It was pretty tight for us. We tried to get a bit tricky and go through on used reds and I didn’t really get two laps together. It put us in a situation where we had to throw on another set and throw a lap together. I think we made it by a few hundredths. That was the most nail-biting part of the session in making it to Q3. Once we got through, we knew we were going to have a decent car. Obviously Power was fast and had been fast on used tires. When we were the only one with new tires left in Q3, the writing was pretty much on the wall. We were just hoping for the next best thing. He’s obviously got a quick car and we have a little bit of work to do.

"I’m happy with the front-row start here for the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis in the Target car. We’ve had a really fast car here this weekend and we just missed out on pole to the No. 1 car. I think the race will be fast and furious here on the road course tomorrow. I’m not sure about the weather holding up but at the end of the day we’re on the front row and hopefully any trouble will happen behind us back in the pack if it’s wet. We’ve had a good run of late on the road and street courses and I hope that continues here tomorrow for the team."

HELIO CASTRONEVES, NO. 3 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 3^RD: “The No. 3 Verizon Chevrolet has been very consistent since the weekend began yesterday. We would like to be starting on third-consecutive pole position, but we are happy with where we are. Eighth-straight Verizon P1 Pole Awards for Team Penske. Wow! That is something to be proud of! We just need to finish the job tomorrow and I think we have a car that can do it. We were close last year, and with Roger Penske on the stand we always have a shot."

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO.2 VERIIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 4^TH: First run was okay. Second run was pretty decent. Made a small change to the car. It got better. But too much understeering on one got me out of position, so I screw up one and two. I was a 10th and a half off. From there it's tough, I mean, when you're on that position. The pressure of one lap makes it exciting, to be honest."

SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 DEVIBLISS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 5^th: Thanks to Team Penske. We’re all up there in the top-five. Everyone is doing a great job. The car is fast and we feel pretty confident for the race. I won from fourth last year so I think we’re in good shape."

WHAT DOES WINNING THE RACE LAST YEAR MEAN? “Just a lot of media and time being there to represent the win we had last year. But we’re back here now for this year."

Tony Kanaan

TONY KANAAN, NO. 10 NTT DATA CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET: “I’m pleased with the No. 10 NTT DATA Chevrolet’s qualifying efforts today. I obviously wanted to finish higher than sixth in the Firestone Fast 6, but I made a small mistake on my fast lap that cost me some time. After yesterday’s practices there were a few things we weren’t thrilled about with the car, but the team came together and worked through to make my car even better than it was. I think the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis is a great addition to the month of May and I’m excited for the green flag tomorrow."

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 11 TEAM MISTIC E-CIGS – KVSH RACING CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 7^TH: “I had no idea what was going on with Scott (Dixon), but he was always going to be quicker than us. He showed that in round one of qualifying. The Circle K Mistic machine was pretty good today, but I have to do a better job on the Firestone red (alternate) tires. The car is really good on blacks (primary tires), but every time we put the reds on it is a bit of a struggle. I didn’t put a whole lap together in round two, I locked up on what should have been my quickest lap. It’s a bit disappointing. We have been strong in every practice and if I can’t qualify better than I did it’s going to be tough to take the challenge to the Penske boys. We will keep knocking at the door and hopefully at some point it is going to come to us."

HOW DOES STARTING ON ROW FOUR PLAY OUT FOR YOU TOMORROW? “It’s like it’s becoming a bad habit. We’re close but we can’t seem to beat these Penske boys in qualifying. In the race we’re very strong, and we showed that again this morning. The car is very good on black (tires). We just don’t seem to be able to match them on reds. There might be a bit of me in there but we just need to find something."

SEBASTIAN SAAVEDRA, NO. 8 AFS CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET: "I’m happy with where we’re starting and this is the second race where we’ve gotten the AFS car out of Q1. Of course we all want more though. I’ve been working very hard, and working with the team to make this car fast for us. I think we have good speed in the car for the Grand Prix tomorrow and will be looking to make our way forward from our starting position."

LUCA FILIPPI, NO. 20 FUZZY’S AWARD WINNING VODKA CFH RACING CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 9TH: "I think we made an improvement in terms of performance. We made gains so I'm pleased. I think we found something we can carry along this season to improve our qualifying performances. I could've done a little better, but I think we got much closer than previous races. If the race stays dry I know we have a consistent car I'm motivated and really convinced that we will have a very strong pace."

STEFANO COLETTI, NO. 4 KV RACING TECHNOLOGY CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED: 10^TH: "I am really happy with qualifying. Finally we advanced to the next round and will start 10th for tomorrow’s Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis. After the first session we thought we could maybe be a little higher, P7 or P8, but in the end that’s how it goes. We still need to find some more grip and get the car better for tomorrow, but I need to thank the No. 4 crew for all their hard work that they have done this weekend to get me this result today. We are happy that we can finally have a proper race, without having to pass everyone and push hard to get our way up front, so we are looking forward to the race tomorrow and to finally being in the top-10."

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 21 CENTURY 21 CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 12TH: “It was not a horrible day; we got ourselves up into the top half of the grid which is great. There was a lot of good work from the guys. We tried using two reds because we just knew we didn't quite have the top group pace and that really helped today. It got us into the front half of the field, but I wasn't able to do much more after that. We'll have to try and make a little more progress tomorrow and see what we need for the race. It's all about scoring good points right now."

CHARLIE KIMBALL, NO. 83 NOVOLOG FLEXPEN CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 14^TH : “I’m obviously disappointed that the No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen Chevrolet didn’t transfer into the second round and make it into the top 12 for tomorrow’s Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis. Despite that, I think we’re in good shape for tomorrow. We missed out a little bit today, but we just need to go back tonight and see where we missed those few tenths and figure out how to get them back. I have a lot of confidence in the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing guys and the Chevy aero kits, and if we just keep continuing doing what we’re doing and being consistent we’ll make our move to the front."

JR HILDEBRAND, NO. 6 PREFERRED FREEZER CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 15TH: "It was disappointing not to make the cut there. We thought that we'd have a little bit more to make up, but it turns out that we were just like a tenth of a second off from making the cut. It’s unfortunate that it ended up being that close. There are definitely still some things that I'm getting a handle on. As it's turned out, there are quite a few things between the track, the aero kit, and the way that the cars are set up that are different than what I am used to. I was anticipating that there would be a little bit less of that coming in. So there are certainly some areas where I can make up some time. Of the three of us, Luca (Filippi) definitely found some speed, so we'll all take a look at the changes they made and what he's doing to try to figure out if we can all elevate to there and make another step for tomorrow. All in all though, it's good to be in a Chevy. With the weather being a little dodgy for tomorrow, who knows what we'll get and hopefully that will play into our favor.

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