Race Weekend Central

Will Power Claims Pole for Grand Prix of Alabama

Will Power sped to the pole position for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park.

Power, with a time of 1:06:961, bested his teammate Helio Castroneves, 1:07:143  to earn the top spot to begin the race.  It is his fourth pole at the 2.3 mile, 17-turn track, and is 46th overall.

Simon Pagenaud follows his two Team Penske teammates and starts third, while Scott Dixon will roll out fourth.

The Fast Six qualifying session was dominated by the three Penske drivers who battled it out, showing signs that the perceived weakness surrounding their Chevrolet engines may be a mirage.  Honda had been off to a strong start to the season but after multiple engine failures at the Grand Prix of Long Beach may have dialed back the power a little bit.

The defending race winner, Josef Newgarden, who made the switch to Penske this season will start the race in seventh.

One surprising aspect of qualifying was that Marco Andretti failed to advance past the first round, a mystifying turn of fortune as the driver held the top position on the speed charts after practice on Friday.

The Grand Prix of Alabama will take place on Sunday, April 23, and can be seen on NBCSN beginning at 3 p.m. EST.

Full Qualifying Results:
1. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 01:06.9614 (123.653)
2. (3) Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet, 01:07.1429 (123.319)
3. (1) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 01:07.3817 (122.882)
4. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 01:07.5817 (122.518)
5. (28) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 01:07.6851 (122.331)
6. (5) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 01:07.8710 (121.996)
7. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 01:07.5941 (122.496)
8. (7) Mikhail Aleshin, Honda, 01:07.9467 (121.860)
9. (8) Max Chilton, Honda, 01:07.9788 (121.803)
10. (10) Tony Kanaan, Honda, 01:08.0305 (121.710)
11. (19) Ed Jones, Honda, 01:08.2034 (121.402)
12. (18) Sebastien Bourdais, Honda, 01:08.2726 (121.279)
13. (27) Marco Andretti, Honda, 01:07.5405 (122.593)
14. (26) Takuma Sato, Honda, 01:07.6928 (122.317)
15. (83) Charlie Kimball, Honda, 01:07.7033 (122.298)
16. (14) Carlos Munoz, Chevrolet, 01:07.7007 (122.303)
17. (20) Spencer Pigot, Chevrolet, 01:07.9211 (121.906)
18. (98) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 01:07.7483 (122.217)
19. (21) Zach Veach, Chevrolet, 01:08.4681 (120.932)
20. (4) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 01:08.0104 (121.746)
21. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 01:08.0499 (121.675)

About the author

As a writer and editor, Ava anchors the Formula 1 coverage for the site, while working through many of its biggest columns. Ava earned a Masters in Sports Studies at UGA and a PhD in American Studies from UH-Mānoa. Her dissertation Chased Women, NASCAR Dads, and Southern Inhospitality: How NASCAR Exports The South is in the process of becoming a book.

Sign up for the Frontstretch Newsletter

A daily email update (Monday through Friday) providing racing news, commentary, features, and information from Frontstretch.com
We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.

Share via