Will Power takes IndyCar pole for GP of Alabama

Will Power speeds to pole

Scott Morris/AR1.com

Penske Racing's Will Power has won the pole position for the GP of Alabama IndyCar race on the beautiful undulating 2.38-mile Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham Alabama in his Chevy. His time of 1m08.3120s on a track that was getting hotter by the minute was enough to beat Andretti Autosport teammates James Hinchcliffe and Ryan Hunter-Reay, both with Honda power.

Josef Newgarden, Scott Dixon, and Helio Castroneves rounded out the Top-6.

It was Power's 33rd career pole, breaking a tie for eighth all time with Michael Andretti.

Four different teams were represented in the final 10-minute session, and the six qualifiers were separated by .3138 of a second.

James Hinchcliffe, who was stranded in the infield following an early race incident last April, qualified a career-best second for the second race in a row (.0289 of a second behind Power) in the No. 27 United Fiber & Data car for Andretti Autosport. Teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay, who won the 2013 race from the pole, will share Row 2 with Josef Newgarden, who tied his career-best qualifying effort in the No. 67 Hartman Oil/Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing car.

Scott Dixon, who has been the runner-up in all four races at Barber, qualified fifth in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car, and Helio Castroneves qualified sixth in the No. 3 AAA Insurance Team Penske car. Castroneves won the 2010 race and has finished third the past two years.

Carlos Munoz missed out on qualifying for his first Firestone Fast Six by .0040 of a second, and tied his best on a road/street course in seventh. Juan Pablo Montoya, in his third race with Team Penske, qualified a season-high eighth and rookie Mikhail Aleshin qualified a season-best 11th in the No. 7 SMP Racing car for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.

QUOTES

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): It’s going to be a tough race. When it goes green, these temperatures are going to be very physical. There will be a lot of traffic and a lot of marbles so we’ll do everything we can to get the win. I love this place. It’s an awesome track. Very technical. Got to be fast. Got to be great. Definitely going to be a good race.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 DHL Honda): "Starting third is two shy of where we want to be but, it’s a good start. We can go to work from there and can definitely win this thing from third. It was a tight qualifying session today — we knew it was going to be. With the level of drivers and teams we have involved, it was going to be a fight to the very end. We tried it and came up short, but overall I think third is good for the No. 28 DHL Honda."

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 27 United Fiber & Data Honda): “Very happy for the United Fiber & Data boys and everybody at Andretti Autosport — all the cars have been quick; having four cars starting in the top 10, that speaks volumes for the team. Second race in a row starting from the front so we’re looking forward to tomorrow. With the heat that we are going to face tomorrow and the tires going off the way they are, we figured either having one more run on that set, or a set with one less run on it was going to play into our hands tomorrow. We watched some other guys go out and we weren’t sure what to expect, a bit nervous on the timing stand there but we held our second place. And hopefully with one less heat cycle on the tires we’ll be in a better position tomorrow."

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 AAA Insurance Team Penske Chevrolet): “I want to thank the AAA Insurance Team Penske boys. They’ve done a hell of a job this weekend, unfortunately, I let my boys down in qualifying. At the end of the day, it's great that we're right in the top six. It's a long race. We know we have a good setup. We’ve run well here before. We're looking forward for tomorrow."

JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 67 Hartman Oil/Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda): “If you're quick in all three practice sessions, it bodes better for the weekend. For us we found something that clicks better on the race car and for me. It's hard to do in a small group. We don't want to make any excuses, but we've just been getting better as a team. Everyone works together better. I've been doing a better job of helping the team find what we need. That's crucial. I feel good about it. Think we have a better package than we've had around here in the past."

CARLOS MUNOZ (No. 34 Cinsay AndrettiTV.com HVM Honda): “Today went pretty well. It’s a shame that, in the end, we missed the Firestone Fast Six by such a small margin – it was really close. I’m happy; I think seventh place to start the race tomorrow is good. It’s a long race ahead – I think tire degradation is going to be the key, and we’ll see what happens. Hopefully at the next race we’ll be able to qualify in the Fast Six. My goal was to make it to the Fast Six… I had a good car to do it and we were all just really close. Anyways, I’m happy for my teammates who made it to the Firestone Fast Six."

JACK HAWKSWORTH (No. 98 Charter/Castrol Edge Honda): "It was a really tough day. We've just not been quick enough all weekend, but the Bryan Herta Autosport guys are working hard to improve our speed. Despite the tricky conditions, we'll keep our heads up and try to have a good day tomorrow."

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA (No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet): “We’re gaining on it. We decided to use two sets in the first session to get an idea because we’ve been getting behind by not doing it. So we decided to do it and it was the right call. The problem is you play the penalty in the second qualifying. Kind of frustrating because we’re right there. But overall, I’m happy. We’re gaining on it. I think we have a really good race car and it’s amazing because, you know, every practice is better. Every qualifying is better. Yesterday we struggled a lot, but this morning we felt like we were better. It’s just a matter of getting the hang out it. Everyone has used the same amount of tires as I have right now. It is what it is, but it’s a better start. We’re mad because we didn’t make the top six, but I did my best qualifying by about half."

GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 15 National Guard Honda): “We’ve made a lot of progress from yesterday to today. We tried some things for qualifying and need to take a look at them and regroup for the morning. We had a really great car in the race in Long Beach after some improvements in the morning warm-up and are hoping for the same here. We’re a strong group and we’ll keep fighting."

ORIOL SERVIA (No. 16 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda): “Our position is not what we wanted or hoped for but only so many can get in Round 2. We just didn’t get it just right and as we were saying earlier, this track doesn’t forgive any unbalance. There are just too many corners and long corners. We just didn’t hit it right but we’re going to hit it right tomorrow. I had a one lap wonder which was the first lap on red tires that I think would have just made the cut but two cars in front of me came out of the pits and I had to give up in the middle of the lap. At that point we were already two-and-one-half tenths up. That was the lap when the tires were at the peak and I couldn’t do it again. But still we’re not where we need to be or where we’re hopefully going to be tomorrow."

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 25 Snapple Honda): “That (qualifying position) is on me, the Snapple team gave me the car – I was on a lap good enough for P3 and almost crashed in Turn 12, I don’t know where it came from. I lost the back end and just saved it up to the line and we lost the time that we needed (for the Firestone Fast Six). But a credit to the team, they’re looking quick."

TAKUMA SATO (No. 14 ABC Supply A.J. Foyt Racing Honda): "We made good progress since yesterday because the car felt more competitive. We found some grip but not enough for qualifying. We tried hard but it was a difficult one."

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS (No. 11 Hydroxycut KVSH Racing): “Well that definitely was not what I expected. I’m very disappointed. The problem was we developed some understeer. We will just have to get that resolved tonight and give it our best tomorrow." (About the qualifying interference penalty): “I didn’t see him and no one told me he was coming. Suddenly I looked into my mirrors and there he was. My bad."

MIKE CONWAY (No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka/Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet): “We had a huge lockup with the front tire entering turn five on my first flying lap. That flat spotted the left front tire and the car wasn’t balanced then. It’s tough for the crew but I know they will fight hard to come back in the race. We have come from behind before and I believe we can do it again. We’ll concentrate to have a good race car now."

SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 77 Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Racing Honda): "Our qualifying result was not what we expected today. The No. 77 car was very fast in practice and the first round of qualifying, and then we lost grip in the second round. You can only drive to the limit of what you have and we just didn't have the lap time today. When you start within the top-10 at Barber it's always possible to win though. It will make the strategy a little bit difficult but we have a good race car. We'll move forward tomorrow and try our hardest to keep scoring big points."

MIKHAIL ALESHIN (No. 7 SMP Racing Honda): "After qualifying today I'm happy to say that we're improving. I'm certainly feeling more comfortable on the Firestone red tires. One of my biggest challenges has been learning how these tires respond because you really only get to practice on them during the qualifying sessions. Schmidt Peterson Motorsports has worked hard and I think you could really see our progress today. We're moving in the right direction and I'm very encouraged. For the race tomorrow, I'll get my second chance at a rolling start. I wasn't ready for it in St. Pete so my focus will be not losing positions during the start. I'll need to be aggressive during the race to make sure we maximize our result tomorrow."

RYAN BRISCOE (No. 8 NTT DATA Chevrolet): “Qualifying definitely did not go how we had hoped that it would. The No. 8 NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet struggled to find much grip throughout all three practice sessions and then even into qualifying. We ran fairly consistently in the top ten throughout practice, so it’s just disappointing that we didn’t get past the first round of qualifying. We have some work to do tonight and we’ll be ready to go tomorrow."

CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen Chevrolet): “It was a disappointing qualifying here at Barber Motorsports Park for the #83 NovoLog FlexPen Chevrolet. We definitely expect more out of ourselves here at Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing, but we’ll figure it out tonight and be ready to go racing tomorrow. We’re going to get some great information from the No. 9 car with it getting into the Firestone Fast 6, which is great for the team. We’ll just see what direction they’re going to go with the car and then work on making sure we can keep the same pace we had with the Firestone primary tires during the race tomorrow."

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chevrolet): "Two of our four second-place finishes here we lost out on pit strategy so I hope we're due for a win. Heat was a big factor for us today and we were able to make the right changes with dampers for qualifying. In third round of qualifying we could have done another lap looking back, but we need to work on finding more speed for the Target car."

TONY KANAAN (No. 10 GE Reveal Chevrolet): “We’ve been struggling all weekend with the car. We tried something different for this session and obviously it just didn’t work. It’s just really too bad for the Target boys. It’s just not a place you want to start, but I’ve been here before. I want to make sure that everyone keeps their spirits up because there’s still a long race to go and anything can happen. My teammate made it into the Firestone Fast 6, so we’re going to look at his setup and probably go to that tomorrow and see what we can do."

SEBASTIAN SAAVEDRA (No. 17 AFS KVAFS Racing Chevrolet): “Since the beginning we had the car, but we just couldn’t put a lap together. I think we went a little bit too early with tires and unfortunately I had nothing at the end and so Montoya bumped me out of sixth spot. I think we do have a great race car for tomorrow and hopefully the changing track conditions during the race won’t surprise us too much. My KV AFS crew has done a great job this weekend and tomorrow should be a good day."

Results Fast Six

1. (12) Will Power, Dallara-Chevy, 01:08.3120 (121.209)
2. (27) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Honda, 01:08.3409 (121.157)
3. (28) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 01:08.4264 (121.006)
4. (67) Josef Newgarden, Dallara-Honda, 01:08.4702 (120.929)
5. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Chevy, 01:08.5151 (120.849)
6. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Chevy, 01:08.6258 (120.654)
7. (34) Carlos Munoz, Dallara-Honda, 01:08.6388 (120.631)
8. (2) Juan Pablo Montoya, Dallara-Chevy, 01:08.6453 (120.620)
9. (25) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 01:08.6634 (120.588)
10. (77) Simon Pagenaud, Dallara-Honda, 01:08.8682 (120.230)
11. (7) Mikhail Aleshin, Dallara-Honda, 01:09.1708 (119.704)
12. (11) Sebastien Bourdais, Dallara-Chevy, 01:10.0283 (118.238)
13. (17) Sebastian Saavedra, Dallara-Chevy, 01:08.9674 (120.057)
14. (14) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 01:09.1451 (119.748)
15. (18) Carlos Huertas, Dallara-Honda, 01:09.0267 (119.954)
16. (19) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 01:09.2018 (119.650)
17. (83) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Chevy, 01:09.1941 (119.663)
18. (15) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 01:09.2228 (119.614)
19. (16) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Honda, 01:09.2935 (119.492)
20. (8) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Chevy, 01:09.2722 (119.528)
21. (20) Mike Conway, Dallara-Chevy, 01:09.8580 (118.526)
22. (98) Jack Hawksworth, Dallara-Honda, 01:09.4201 (119.274)
23. (10) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Chevy, 01:09.5829 (118.995)