Indy 500: Will Power Gear-Up For Pole Day After Fast Friday Practice
May 09, 2008
IndyCar Series Media
Will Power has completed his fourth day on track and is ready for the first day of Indy 500 qualifying tomorrow after driving to 21st fastest in ‘Fast Friday’ practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana today.
Power is all set for Pole Day tomorrow, where the first 11 spots on the 33-car grid for this year’s 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500 are set.
Today was day four of official practice but only the second day that all drivers and teams were on track for practice after two consecutive days of practice were rained out. Power has four days on track by virtue of participating in Rookie Orientation on Sunday and Monday before official practice commenced on Tuesday.
Practice today was cut short by further rain. The next two days on track will be all-important qualifying days, with Pole Day followed by Second Day qualifying on Sunday, which will set positions 12 to 22 on the starting grid for race start on May 25.
Power turned 32 laps today and has turned 236 laps this month, the most of any driver. A total of 35 cars are currently at the Speedway and have passed technical inspection. Thirty-three drivers have been on the track to date and have turned 3,734 laps this month.
New Zealand’s Scott Dixon topped the time sheets today on Fast Friday, ahead of Marco Andretti and Tony Kanaan.
Will Power - #8 Aussie Vineyards - Team Australia Honda/Dallara/Firestone
“It was not a very productive day for the Aussie Vineyards - Team Australia guys,” said Power.
“There were a lot of yellows this afternoon, and then the rain came, so we didn’t get the track time we needed. That put us back a bit.”
“There were also a lot of cars running around in tows today, so it is really hard to get a feel for what speeds people are actually running.
“It is going to be very interesting tomorrow.”
Craig Gore - Aussie Vineyards - Team Australia
“Will got some more laps in the Aussie Vineyards car today and while he didn’t improve his fastest time for the month so far, he still got the opportunity to try some things before the next two days of qualifying,” said Gore.
“It’s a long month but so far things are on track. Will is a rookie driver with a rookie team. The goal is to make the race in the next two days of qualifying and that’s what we are concentrating on at the moment.”
RESULTS: ‘Fast Friday’ Practice
1. #9 Scott Dixon 226.968mph (lap average speed)
2. #26 Marco Andretti 226.710
3. #11 Tony Kanaan 226.688
4. #6 Ryan Briscoe 226.143
5. #27 Hideki Mutoh 225.990
6. #10 Dan Wheldon 225.674
7. #4T Vitor Meira 224.811
8. #7 Danica Patrick 224.744
9. #12 Tomas Scheckter 224.712
10. #17 Ryan Hunter-Reay 224.125
21. #8 Will Power 222.311
