Power takes pole in St. Petersburg
Will Power won his fifth pole of the season and flirted with the St. Petersburg track record Saturday in qualifying for the IndyCar season finale.
Power will start from the pole Sunday on the downtown temporary street course for the ninth time in his career. Power is in a three-way fight with Colton Herta and rookie Pato O’Ward for third in the final standings. The championship will be decided between Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden.
Dixon needs to finish only ninth or higher to wrap up a sixth championship. Newgarden is seeking a second consecutive title and third overall.
Newgarden will start eighth and needs to win Sunday to have any chance at stopping Dixon.
“We took a swing at it and it wasn’t the right direction,” Newgarden said. “I didn’t get enough out of it.”
Dixon had a lead of 117 points at one point this season. Alexander Rossi, trying to prevent the first winless season of his career, starts second and teammate Colton Herta was third.
JOHNSON LANDS INDY SPONSOR
Jimmie Johnson needed funding for his move to IndyCar so the seventime NASCAR champion transitioned into a salesman for the first time.
He’ll continue selling all next year as representative for the online auto retailer Carvana.Johnson and Chip Ganassi Racing on Saturday announced Carvana — the company known for multi-story car vending machines — as the sponsor for the No. 48 Honda that Johnson will drive in road and street course IndyCar races.
It’s a striking partnership in that Johnson has spent the past 19 seasons driving for Rick Hendrick, one of the largest car dealers in the country. Johnson sought Hendrick’s blessing before signing the deal.
“I’ve had him in the loop from the beginning,” Johnson told The Associated Press. “In typical Rick fashion he was great with it.”
Johnson, 45, will retire from full-time NASCAR competition following next month’s season finale. He’s tied with Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt with a record seven Cup titles.
FORMULA ONE
Lewis Hamilton edged out Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas to take pole position for the Portuguese Grand Prix in Portimao on Saturday. Having secured a record-extending 97th career pole, Hamilton can make Formula One history if he wins Sunday’s race with a 92nd win to move one clear of Michael Schumacher.