IZOD IndyCar Series qualifying is on tap later this morning at Barber Motorsports Park, and the question that has emerged early on this year — Can anybody stop Will Power? — continues to be answered with a resounding “no.”
We’ll see if the awesome Aussie can attain his second straight pole today, but if he can start there or up towards the front, he’s sure to be a major factor in the outcome of Sunday’s Indy Grand Prix of Alabama (3 p.m. ET, Versus). Power led yesterday’s practice sessions on the winding, 17-turn road course with a time of 71.1857 seconds (116.315 m.p.h. average speed) in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske machine.
Barber seems to have been tagged as a track that’s very hard to pass on, and so, track position and qualifying will play a critical part in what happens on Sunday.
“This was a good start to the weekend, but I am really aware that qualifying means everything around here,” said Power after yesterday’s practice. “This track is very physical and demanding. To me, it’s really a drivers track because there is a lot of commitment and technicality involved. The blind corners leading into fast entries require commitment if you want to be quick.”
Andretti Autosport’s Tony Kanaan was second-fastest yesterday (71.3012 seconds/116.127 m.p.h.), followed by Power’s teammate Helio Castroneves (71.3698 seconds/116.015 m.p.h.), Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon (71.4243 seconds/115.927 seconds), and AA’s Marco Andretti (71.5446 seconds/115.927 m.p.h.). In all, sixteen drivers were within one second of Power’s leading time.
IndyCar.com will carry live coverage of today’s qualifying starting at 10:20 a.m. ET. Versus will run qualifying highlights from Barber later tonight at 6 p.m. ET.
