Will Power takes the pole for St. Pete 2011

After a long cold wait, the 2011 IZOD INDYCAR season has officially begun. With the temperature reaching a sunny 80 degrees; the first qualifying session of 2011 looks very much like one from 2010, Will Power is P1.

 

Power took the top spot with a speed of 104.579 MPH, just beating out 2010 Champion Dario Franchitti who ran a 104.021 MPH lap. Followed by Dixon in P3, Mike Conway will start P4 with an impressive debut for Andretti Autosport being the only from Andretti in the “Fast 6”. Rounding out the “Fast 6” was Ryan Briscoe P5 and Justin Wilson taking P6.

 

The notable incident of the day was the crash between Sebastian Saavedra and Sebastien Bourdais. Just after Saavedra entered the course he would make serious contact with Bourdais ending the session for both teams.

 

In the post qualifying press conference it became clear; most of the fast six may have used up their “reds” this afternoon. When asked if all the drivers used up their allotment of red tires, Franchitti replied “Maybe”. Then Justin Wilson answered that tomorrow we will see who wore out their reds and who might still have something left.

 

Mike Conway who had a great debut with Andretti and Go Daddy was today’s unsung comeback star. He not only will start P5, also he helped with set-ups for Marco Andretti and Danica Patrick.   “It’s been a great weekend so far. We were searching a bit for more in qualifying, but this series is so tough. It’s always hard to make the Firestone Fast Six, so we are happy about that.” Conway told the media after qualifying.

Before qualifying  Comcast owned  Telemundo was announced as the primary sponsor for Oriel Servia’s 02 Newman/Haas entry.

 

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One Thought to “Will Power takes the pole for St. Pete 2011

  1. Totally not surprised by Power, and really is there anyone who followed IndyCar last year who is surprised? He is our Stig when it comes to the twisty tracks. I’m also not surprised by Conway’s performance, and really I should credit my confidence in him to my wife, @mstabbycat. She got me on the Conway bandwagon in 2009, and he really looked strong in 2010 before his unfortunate incident at IMS. I’d really like to see him on the podium this afternoon!

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