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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Power Scores St. Pete Pole
Team Penske's Will Power took anther pole at St. Petersburg by lowering his own lap record from a 1:01.60 to a 1:01.37 in 2012 using Chevy power.
Team Penske's Will Power took anther pole at St. Petersburg by lowering his own lap record from a 1:01.60 set in 2010 to a 1:01.37 in 2012 using Chevrolet power.
"I was actually surprised at the lap time on used tires; the track picked up there in the end," said Power. "The Chevy was the strongest engine, and we made a couple of adjustments there in the fast 6 and the car was really good and we got pole."
Power led a Team Penske 1-2 with his teammate Ryan Briscoe in second. Briscoe's 1:01.53 was well clear of Andretti Autosport's Ryan Hunter-Reay, who turned a lap of 1:01.93 late in the 10-minute Firestone Fast 6 session.
Briscoe echoed Power's comments and complimented his fellow Aussie for a job well done.
“The Chevys are on top which is good for Team Penske," he said. "We just keep pushing harder and harder. Good job by Will.”
Hunter-Reay was clearly pleased to be up front to start the first race of the season.
"It's certainly fun with all the energy in the air with these new cars, the manufacturers going head-to-head," he said. "St. Pete always puts on a great show. We're happy to be here. It was a good day for the DHL Sun Drop car. We had to go to work on it this morning. We weren't really happy with it. To see where we ended up in the end is not only a testament to the crew, the team, but also the teamwork, the drivers sharing information. I got to thank James and Marco also for all their input, which helped make quick cars today."
James Hinchcliffe backed up Hunter-Reay in his Andretti car, just 0.0380 seconds behind with a lap of 1:01.97.
"It's a pretty good result for us," said the young Canadian who will make his first IndyCar start at St. Pete tomorrow. "The goal was to get into the Fast 6. If you told us we would have made that, I would have been pretty happy. The funny part, after being quickest in Q2, you're almost disappointed with fourth. It's a great effort by Andretti Autosport."
Helio Castroneves capped Team Penske's efforts in fifth, rallying back from a wall banging incident in the Fast 12.
"The Shell V-Power boys did an incredible job fixing my car for qualifying [round] three," said the Brazilian. "Unfortunately I went over the limit of the car, ended up hitting Turn 9. I thought it was over. We weren't able to qualify for segment three, I thought it was over. Getting out of the car, the guys became fully concentrated and focused to fix the rear suspension. I would say in seven minutes they were able to switch the entire suspension and we were able to go back out there. Certainly I didn't have much. But certainly happy for Team Penske having three cars in the top 5."
Chevrolet locked out the top 5 spots in qualifying on Saturday, with Honda's Simon Pagenaud completing the Fast 6 with a lap of 1:02.10.
The Frenchman saved his Reds by running the Fast 6 on the harder Blacks, which didn't result in pole, but could play to his advantage tomorrow as he starts 16th after serving a 10-spot grid penalty for making an unapproved engine change.
"Very happy to be in the Fast 6," he said. "It's always something very difficult to accomplish. Coming in as a rookie, first full season, the racing team, it's something special. We worked right over the winter. We knew we had a good package. It's a matter of executing what you have, right? It's not always easy, especially when you have these guys around. I was very happy with the first two qualifying sections. We were looking strong in the top four. Then we made a little gamble. I thought maybe the blacks were going to give me a little bit more. I had a brand-new set, so I tried it. It didn't work..."
Amongst the biggest surprises in qualifying came with the entire four-car Ganassi program missing the Fast 6.
Two-time series champion Scott Dixon led his squad in seventh with a lap of 1:01.76 (and will now be promoted to sixth as a result of Pagenaud's penalty), and attributed his lack of speed with a car that was too tail happy.
“Trying to find balance has just been difficult this weekend,” he said. “It has a bit too much oversteer, which I normally like. We lost a bit of time going down the wrong road in practice. Ultimately, I think we’re missing two to three tenths we need to find before race time.”
His teammate Dario Franchitti was rather succinct in his post-qualifying assessment of the No. 10 car's run to 10th, and also offered a positive spin on his chances of winning back-to-back races at St. Pete.
“We’ve got work to do on the cars, so we’ll just keep our heads down," he said. "Tomorrow’s a different day. We’ve got some tricks in our bag and we’ll do our best to get up front.”
The two biggest topics after qualifying involved the lack of pace shown by the Honda teams, and how the Firestone Reds didn't suit a number of cars.
PHOTOS: Click Here or on the image below to view INDYCAR: St.Pete Saturday 2012
"I was actually surprised at the lap time on used tires; the track picked up there in the end," said Power. "The Chevy was the strongest engine, and we made a couple of adjustments there in the fast 6 and the car was really good and we got pole."
Power led a Team Penske 1-2 with his teammate Ryan Briscoe in second. Briscoe's 1:01.53 was well clear of Andretti Autosport's Ryan Hunter-Reay, who turned a lap of 1:01.93 late in the 10-minute Firestone Fast 6 session.
Briscoe echoed Power's comments and complimented his fellow Aussie for a job well done.
“The Chevys are on top which is good for Team Penske," he said. "We just keep pushing harder and harder. Good job by Will.”
Hunter-Reay was clearly pleased to be up front to start the first race of the season.
"It's certainly fun with all the energy in the air with these new cars, the manufacturers going head-to-head," he said. "St. Pete always puts on a great show. We're happy to be here. It was a good day for the DHL Sun Drop car. We had to go to work on it this morning. We weren't really happy with it. To see where we ended up in the end is not only a testament to the crew, the team, but also the teamwork, the drivers sharing information. I got to thank James and Marco also for all their input, which helped make quick cars today."
James Hinchcliffe backed up Hunter-Reay in his Andretti car, just 0.0380 seconds behind with a lap of 1:01.97.
"It's a pretty good result for us," said the young Canadian who will make his first IndyCar start at St. Pete tomorrow. "The goal was to get into the Fast 6. If you told us we would have made that, I would have been pretty happy. The funny part, after being quickest in Q2, you're almost disappointed with fourth. It's a great effort by Andretti Autosport."
Helio Castroneves capped Team Penske's efforts in fifth, rallying back from a wall banging incident in the Fast 12.
"The Shell V-Power boys did an incredible job fixing my car for qualifying [round] three," said the Brazilian. "Unfortunately I went over the limit of the car, ended up hitting Turn 9. I thought it was over. We weren't able to qualify for segment three, I thought it was over. Getting out of the car, the guys became fully concentrated and focused to fix the rear suspension. I would say in seven minutes they were able to switch the entire suspension and we were able to go back out there. Certainly I didn't have much. But certainly happy for Team Penske having three cars in the top 5."
Chevrolet locked out the top 5 spots in qualifying on Saturday, with Honda's Simon Pagenaud completing the Fast 6 with a lap of 1:02.10.
The Frenchman saved his Reds by running the Fast 6 on the harder Blacks, which didn't result in pole, but could play to his advantage tomorrow as he starts 16th after serving a 10-spot grid penalty for making an unapproved engine change.
"Very happy to be in the Fast 6," he said. "It's always something very difficult to accomplish. Coming in as a rookie, first full season, the racing team, it's something special. We worked right over the winter. We knew we had a good package. It's a matter of executing what you have, right? It's not always easy, especially when you have these guys around. I was very happy with the first two qualifying sections. We were looking strong in the top four. Then we made a little gamble. I thought maybe the blacks were going to give me a little bit more. I had a brand-new set, so I tried it. It didn't work..."
Amongst the biggest surprises in qualifying came with the entire four-car Ganassi program missing the Fast 6.
Two-time series champion Scott Dixon led his squad in seventh with a lap of 1:01.76 (and will now be promoted to sixth as a result of Pagenaud's penalty), and attributed his lack of speed with a car that was too tail happy.
“Trying to find balance has just been difficult this weekend,” he said. “It has a bit too much oversteer, which I normally like. We lost a bit of time going down the wrong road in practice. Ultimately, I think we’re missing two to three tenths we need to find before race time.”
His teammate Dario Franchitti was rather succinct in his post-qualifying assessment of the No. 10 car's run to 10th, and also offered a positive spin on his chances of winning back-to-back races at St. Pete.
“We’ve got work to do on the cars, so we’ll just keep our heads down," he said. "Tomorrow’s a different day. We’ve got some tricks in our bag and we’ll do our best to get up front.”
The two biggest topics after qualifying involved the lack of pace shown by the Honda teams, and how the Firestone Reds didn't suit a number of cars.
PHOTOS: Click Here or on the image below to view INDYCAR: St.Pete Saturday 2012
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