BY BRUCE MARTIN
EDMONTON, Alberta – With large bolts of lightning in the north sky adding to the drama of Saturday’s Firestone “Fast Six,” Helio Castroneves thought that might be the only thing to stop his Team Penske teammate Will Power.
BY BRUCE MARTIN
EDMONTON, Alberta – With large bolts of lightning in the north sky adding to the drama of Saturday’s Firestone “Fast Six,” Helio Castroneves thought that might be the only thing to stop his Team Penske teammate Will Power.
“I was hoping lightning would strike this guy,” Castroneves joked, pointing to Power, who won the pole with a fast lap of 1:00.7126 seconds around the 1.96-mile, 14-turn temporary street course at Edmonton’s City Centre Airport. That equates to 116.991 miles per hour and Power will start first in Sunday’s IZOD IndyCar Series Honda Indy Edmonton. He edged Castroneves, who ran a fast time of 1:00.7891 for a speed of 116.843 mph to make it an All-Penske front row for the third time this season.
“The lightning was really pretty,” Power said. “I was going into Turn 1 and was looking at it and then I realized, `Oh, I better turn now.’”
Power showed just how much power he has by winning the pole at Edmonton for the second-straight season and the third overall including the 2007 Champ Car Series race.
Power has won the pole in eight of his last 17 IZOD IndyCar Series races. That means he has been on the pole in 47 percent of his races over that span.
It was Power’s sixth pole of the season after being the fastest qualifier at St. Petersburg, Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama, Long Beach, Iowa and Watkins Glen. It was also his 14th career Indy car pole and his eighth pole in the IZOD IndyCar Series as the driver from Australia attempts to win his third-straight IZOD IndyCar Series race and his fifth win of the season.
Needless to say, Power is on quite a roll.
“Today is a matter of getting all the details right and not making any mistakes,” Power said. “You have to understand as you are going into each race what type of race it will be. All those things in motorsports come together where the team doesn’t make any mistakes and you don’t make any mistakes. You have to get everything right and that is how you win championships.”
Power jokingly called Castroneves “Little Bugger” after the qualifications ended because of how the two drivers are often “sneaky” when it comes to sharing information.
“We push each other and look at each other’s data and try to hold details from each other,” Power said.
Castroneves used an example of the “track walk” that takes place before each street and road race where the competitors are allowed to inspect the race course and look at the challenges that exist on that circuit. Power will ask Castroneves, “Hey, do you jump that curb?” Castroneves responded, “Yeah, sure, you have to jump that curb” even though Castroneves may believe otherwise. Playing off each other has created a great atmosphere on the three-driver team that also includes Ryan Briscoe.
“It’s a good atmosphere because this guy is certainly pushing me to the limit,” Castroneves said, referring to Power. “It’s good for all of us, especially for Team Penske. For me, it makes me a better driver. It makes me try to find and look for some areas that I never were able to see. For me, it’s great. It’s great for the team. Now, we have to keep going.”
Scott Dixon of Target/Chip Ganassi Racing will start third after running a lap at 115.984 mph. He lines up alongside Target teammate Dario Franchitti, who starts fourth at 115.968 mph. Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe starts fifth after running a lap at 115.719 mph and Venezuela’s E.J. Viso made the Firestone “Fast Six” for the first time in his career with a lap at 115.282 mph for KV Racing Technology.
Simona de Silvestro of Switzerland had her best-ever qualifying performance in the series and will start seventh after running a lap at 115.410 mph for HVM Racing.
IZOD’s “Race to the Party” contingent had a frustrating day of qualifications. Team IZOD’s Ryan Hunter-Reay starts eighth for Andretti Autosport after running a lap at 115.381 mph for Andretti Autosport. Marco Andretti starts 16th for Andretti with a lap at 114.291 mph. Danica Patrick starts 21st for Andretti with a lap at 113.500 mph. Dan Wheldon of Panther Racing lines up 22nd with a lap at 113.211 mph. And Tony Kanaan of Andretti Autosport ran off course on his first lap and will start 24th in the 25-car field after failing to post a qualification speed.
Milka Duno, who starts last in the 25-car field when she was parked for qualifying has been placed on probation by the Indy Racing League through December 31, 2010 for “not consistently meeting minimal performance standards.” According to the IRL, Duno’s probation “requires immediate and substantial improvement for her driving during the remaining events on the 2010 schedule.”
While Duno has not met the minimum requirement, Power continues to push for maximum performance in the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series.
“I knew Helio was going to be real close so I gave it everything I got,” Power recalled of his fast lap. “It was close. It was good. It was a good battle. We’ve been pushing each other all weekend and it came down to the final details. I’m happy to be on pole. I know it is a difficult track to pass on and I think track position is important. So let’s see if we can get that Verizon car another win.”
Castroneves realizes that on a fast race course where it is difficult to pass, starting position is important, which is why he was shaking his head at how Power nipped him again.
“It was certainly tough qualifying as always and it looks like every weekend we are repeating ourselves,” Castroneves said. “It’s tough. It’s tough. It’s pretty darn tough. When we went for it we really went for it. Unfortunately, the car was really loose. I was just trying to wait for the big one. Now, we just have to keep going fast. We’re going to collect some points. That is our mentality.
“Hopefully, we are going to have a good race and see if we can beat this sneaky little William Power.”
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