Power sets Grand Prix record
INDIANAPOLIS — Juan Pablo Montoya emerged from racing limbo Friday and seemed none the slower for it in qualifying for today’s Grand Prix of Indianapolis, although he wasn’t quite up to the pace of Team Penske teammate Will Power.
Then again, no one could match Power as he set a track record — 67.7044 seconds — on the road course within Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where two weeks from Sunday the Indianapolis 500 will be run.
This is the second time in three years that Power has been the race's top qualifier, increasing his career total to 47 poles, fifth most in IndyCar history.
“It’s really cool to start at the front again,” said Power, who has a seriesleading three poles in the first five events of 2017 but still no race win this year. “One’s got to go our way here soon. You keep putting yourself in that position, that will happen. That’s the plan.”
One of those who will try to run him down is his temporary teammate, Montoya, who will start fifth. The two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 parted ways with Penske last season after a three-year run but has been brought back to race in the Grand Prix and the 500.
“Think about it: The last time I qualified was September,” Montoya said. “We did pretty good. … Our goal was to make the fast six, and we did.”
Four Penske drivers, with Chevy power and aero kits, will be in the starting top five: Power, No. 2 qualifier Helio Castroneves, No. 3 Josef Newgarden and Montoya. The other Penske entry, defending race winner Simon Pagenaud, will start seventh.
The interlopers are No. 4 Scott Dixon and No. 6 Sebastien Bourdais, both with Honda engines and aero kits.
The Penske cars especially have had an advantage this season, winning all five poles and two of the first four races (Pagenaud, Newgarden). Bourdais took the opener at St. Petersburg, and James Hinchcliffe won at Long Beach.
That’s why Castroneves said that seeing a driver with “the salt” of Montoya step back in and compete was no surprise.
“He's a pretty major talent, obviously, and I'm glad he's on our team,” Castroneves said. “But it just shows that our cars are very good, and when you match with a good driver, too, it's right up there.”
Meanwhile, the qualifying struggles continued for Graham Rahal on the one-driver Rahal Letterman Lanigan team. He’ll start 20th after failing to get out of the first round. But then, Rahal started in the back of the pack the past two years and rose to finish second in 2015 and fourth last year.
“We can do it again,” Rahal said. “But I hate making our lives this difficult.”