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Andretti Autosport’s Tony Kanaan likely summed up the thoughts of the entire IZOD IndyCar Series paddock yesterday after Will Power claimed the pole position for today’s Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach (3:30 p.m. ET, Versus).
“We wake up every day thinking about it,” said the 2004 series champion of Power’s current hot streak. “I think, again, he’s doing a great job. He got a very good opportunity. He’s obviously a very good race car driver. And I guess I’ve been in that seat. Not that dominant. But when things are going your way, it goes your way. I think again he’s been pressing everybody and, what can I say?
“I mean, he’s the guy that we wake up every morning and we look at and say, ‘What are we going to do to beat him?'”
Power crushed Kanaan and the four other competitors in the final Firestone Fast Six round with a lap of 69.3185 seconds in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car, which was nearly a half-second ahead of his closest pursuer, Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay. The big difference was Power and his team’s plan to save a set of the Firestone alternate “red” tires for the last 10-minute session.
“We had new reds and did the lap,” said Power, who won his third straight pole and is looking to get back on the winning track after finishing fourth last weekend at Barber Motorsports Park.
“At this track, you’ve got to be so brave to get a lap. I mean to be on the limit, you go a little bit over it, and it’s so easy to hit the wall. So, I’m very happy. But just as you saw last weekend, it doesn’t matter how quick you are, you’ve really got to read the strategy well tomorrow. We’ve got to execute. We can’t afford to take the wrong strategy out if the yellow falls.”
Likely helping Power — as if he needed any — is the fact that he isn’t having to switch cars and teams this year at Long Beach. When Helio Castroneves returned to action in Southern California last year after beating federal tax evasion charges, Power was forced to move to the No. 12 car that was then just a part-time program. The switch failed to shake Power, who won the pole and finished second in the race.
Now he’s hitting the legendary street circuit as one of the hottest drivers in all of motorsports and as a full-time member of Team Penske. And as a full-timer, he’s making sure to get his cars just right for his driving style.
“Last year…everything was new to me and new to each other,” said Power. “You know, we just quickly had all the team ready. So, you know, everything was — everyone wasn’t very familiar with each other.
“But obviously this year, the difference between [last year and this year] is I used to drive the car how it was. I wouldn’t really change it very much because I was only doing limited races. But this year, I focused on getting it right for me, and that’s the way the paces come from. Plus, having two very good teammates; we push each other hard and that also raises the bar.”
Team Penske has left an early mark on the season with Power’s victories at Sao Paulo and St. Petersburg, and Helio Castroneves’ win at Barber. They’ll have a chance to go four-for-four this year and that chance is good with Power on pole, Castroneves starting fourth, and Ryan Briscoe starting fifth.
But there will be several underdogs with a chance of stopping the Penske Express. Leading that pack is Hunter-Reay, whose outside front row start is the best of his career.
“We really didn’t fuss with the car in qualifying,” said Hunter-Reay, who ran a fast lap of 69.7506 seconds in the No. 37 IZOD special. “We just kept throwing tires at it. Unfortunately, we weren’t brave enough or bold enough. I don’t even think we were strong enough to save the red set until the end like Will did. But we were happy. That’s why he’s leading the championship and stuff like that.”
Dreyer and Reinbold Racing’s Justin Wilson earned the inside of Row 2 with a lap of 69.7939 seconds in the No. 22 Z-Line Designs car, while Castroneves got the outside of that row with a lap of 69.8470 seconds in the No. 3 Team Penske car. Briscoe and Kanaan make up the third row, with Alex Tagliani, Scott Dixon, Marco Andretti, and Dan Wheldon rounding out the top ten starting spots.
Video credit: Indy Racing League.
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IZOD IndyCar Series
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
Streets of Long Beach, Calif.
Qualifying results
Firestone Fast Six
1. 12-Will Power, Penske, 69.3185 seconds.
2. 37-Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti, 69.7506.
3. 22-Justin Wilson, D&R, 69.7939.
4. 3-Helio Castroneves, Penske, 69.8470.
5. 6-Ryan Briscoe, Penske, 70.0255.
6. 11-Tony Kanaan, Andretti, 70.1618.
Eliminated — Round Two
7. 77-Alex Tagliani, FAZZT, 69.8730.
8. 9-Scott Dixon, Ganassi, 69.9688.
9. 26-Marco Andretti, Andretti, 70.1760.
10. 4-Dan Wheldon, Panther, 70.2574.
11. 06-Hideki Mutoh, Newman/Haas/Lanigan, 70.2730.
12. 10-Dario Franchitti, Ganassi, 70.3358.
Eliminated — Round One
13. 78-Simona de Silvestro (group 1), HVM, 70.3722.
14. 14-Vitor Meira (group 2), Foyt, 70.4259.
15. 32-Mario Moraes (group 1), KV Racing Tech., 70.5093.
16. 24-Mike Conway (group 2), D&R, 70.4586.
17. 8-E.J. Viso (group 1), KV Racing Tech., 70.5991.
18. 2-Raphael Matos (group 2), Luczo Dragon + de Ferran, 70.5068.
19. 5-Takuma Sato (group 1), KV Racing Tech., 70.7000.
20. 7-Danica Patrick (group 2), Andretti, 70.5503.
21. 19-Alex Lloyd (group 1), Coyne, 70.8003.
22. 67-Graham Rahal (group 2), Fisher, 70.7722.
23. 34-Mario Romancini (group 1), Conquest, 70.9914.
24. 36-Bertrand Baguette (group 1), Conquest, 71.4345.
25. 18-Milka Duno (group 2), Coyne, DNQ.
