Hildebrand wins pole for Long Beach Lights race
1. (26) J.R. Hildebrand, 1:15.2695 (94.126)
2. (7) James Hinchcliffe, 1:15.4928 (93.847)
3. (19) Stefan Wilson, 1:15.3353 (94.044)
4. (36) Richard Philippe, 1:15.5582 (93.766)
5. (9) Jonathan Summerton, 1:15.8578 (93.396)
6. (15) Martin Plowman, 1:15.5921 (93.724)
7. (20) Ana Beatriz, 1:15.9663 (93.262)
8. (63) Jonathan Bomarito, 1:15.6753 (93.621)
9. (59) Ali Jackson, 1:16.0899 (93.111)
10. (21) James Davison, 1:15.8273 (93.433)
11. (44) Gustavo Yacaman, 1:16.0988 (93.100)
12. (18) Junior Strous, 1:15.9313 (93.305)
13. (28) Daniel Herrington, 1:16.1312 (93.060)
14. (5) Mario Romancini, 1:15.9503 (93.282)
15. (11) Wade Cunningham, 1:16.1857 (92.994)
16. (4) Sean Guthrie, 1:16.4959 (92.617)
17. (27) Sebastian Saavedra, 1:16.4745 (92.643)
18. (35) Charlie Kimball, 1:16.7109 (92.357)
19. (37) Jay Howard, 1:17.1941 (91.779)
20. (49) Jesse Mason, 1:17.3096 (91.642)
21. (33) Pablo Donoso, 1:17.5287 (91.383)
22. (16) Pippa Mann, 1:17.3743 (91.565)
23. (3) Sergey Mokshantsev, 1:21.9018 (86.504)
24. (2) Andrew Prendeville, 1:19.3530 (89.282)
25. (55) Rodrigo Barbosa, no time (no speed)
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| Jonathan Bomarito (R) congratulates JR Hildebrand (L) for winning the pole by just 0.0003s |
| Chris Jones/IRL |
04/18/09 It is an all-California front row for the 45-lap Firestone Indy Lights race April 19 in Long Beach. J.R. Hildebrand of Sausalito, driving the No. 26 ARPRO car for AFS Racing/Andretti Green Racing, won the pole by just 0.003s with a quick lap of 1 minute, 15.2695 seconds (94.126 mph) on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary Long Beach street circuit.
Jonathan Bomarito of Monterey, making his series debut in the No. 63 Genoa/Mathiasen Motorsports car, was a tick slower. He recorded a quick lap of 1:15.2698 (94.125 mph). Qualifying was split into two groups, each receiving 20 minutes on the track with Bomarito in group 1 and Hildebrand in group 2.
Bomarito started on the pole for the Atlantics race at Long Beach in 2008 and '06 with Mathiasen Motorsports.
"The team, Genoa Racing, and my personal sponsor, Ray and Leslie Mathiasen, everyone just kind of pulled together," he said. "It happened really last-minute. But the car was good, the session was good, and we'll start on the front row. I can't wait.
"The team has proven that they have a good handle on the car. It just keeps getting faster and faster as the session goes on. So I'm really confident that the car will be there for the duration of the race. We'll just have to get a good start, stay calm and let it play out for a while."
Starting Lineup
| Pos | Driver | Diff | Gap | Best Time |
| 1 | JR Hildebrand (26) | –.—- | –.—- | 1:15.2695 |
| 2 | Jonathan Bomarito (63) | 0.0003 | 0.0003 | 1:15.2698 |
| 3 | James Hinchcliffe (7) | 0.2230 | 0.2230 | 1:15.4928 |
| 4 | Stefan Wilson (19) | 0.0658 | 0.0658 | 1:15.3353 |
| 5 | Richard Philippe (36) | 0.2884 | 0.0654 | 1:15.5582 |
| 6 | Jonathan Summerton (9) | 0.5883 | 0.5225 | 1:15.8578 |
| 7 | Martin Plowman (15) | 0.3223 | 0.0339 | 1:15.5921 |
| 8 | Ana Beatriz (20) | 0.6968 | 0.1085 | 1:15.9663 |
| 9 | James Davison (21) | 0.5575 | 0.2352 | 1:15.8273 |
| 10 | Ali Jackson (59) | 0.8204 | 0.1236 | 1:16.0899 |
| 11 | Junior Strous (18) | 0.6615 | 0.1040 | 1:15.9313 |
| 12 | Gustavo Yacaman (44) | 0.8293 | 0.0089 | 1:16.0988 |
| 13 | Mario Romancini (5) | 0.6805 | 0.0190 | 1:15.9503 |
| 14 | Daniel Herrington (28) | 0.8617 | 0.0324 | 1:16.1312 |
| 15 | Sean Guthrie (4) | 1.2261 | 0.5456 | 1:16.4959 |
| 16 | Wade Cunningham (11) | 0.9162 | 0.0545 | 1:16.1857 |
| 17 | Charlie Kimball (35) | 1.4411 | 0.2150 | 1:16.7109 |
| 18 | Sebastian Saavedra (27) | 1.2050 | 0.2888 | 1:16.4745 |
| 19 | Jesse Mason (49) | 2.0398 | 0.5987 | 1:17.3096 |
| 20 | Jay Howard (37) | 1.9246 | 0.7196 | 1:17.1941 |
| 21 | Pippa Mann (16) | 2.1045 | 0.0647 | 1:17.3743 |
| 22 | Pablo Donoso (33) | 2.2592 | 0.3346 | 1:17.5287 |
| 23 | Andrew Prendeville (2) | 4.0832 | 1.9787 | 1:19.3530 |
| 24 | Sergey Mokshantsev (3) | 6.6323 | 4.3731 | 1:21.9018 |
| 25 | Rodrigo Barbosa (55) | 0.0000 | 0.0000 | -0.0001 |