Power, Penske Dominate Qualifying for IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma

Penske’s Will Power won the pole for the IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma while his teammates took the next two spots.

Will Power of Australia won his ninth Peak Performance Pole Award at the IZOD IndyCar Series Indy Grand Prix of Sonama at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Penske’s Will Power seized his ninth pole of the season at Infineon raceway in Sonoma, California, while his teammates Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe took the second and third spots.

Target Ganassi took the next two grid positions, followed by rookie sensation James Hinchcliffe, who beat all the series regulars into the Firestone Fast Six for the first time in his IndyCar career.

“The tires are the reason we went so fast,” Power told the post-qualifying press conference on IndyCar.com. “Red tires are worth basically a second, and that’s what we gained and that’s why everyone basically went a second faster, so that’s where the pace came from.

It’s great having two teammates around me, that’s the optimal we could hope for as a team, so we’re happy about that. We would hope we can do that tomorrow, but obviously the race will be a different story.”