ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—Will Power started his 2012 IndyCar season with a record-setting fast lap around St. Pete’s concrete-lined street course, completing the 1.8-mile circuit in 1:01.3721. This is the third year in a row the Penske driver will start from the pole.
“I was actually surprised at the lap times on used tires,” Power told the post-qualifying press conference.
(Most teams use one set of their soft, sticky Red tires to get into the final qualifying round, and use a “scuffed” (lightly used) set in the final round. Teams know they will qualify no worse than sixth, and can save the final set of new Red tires for the race.)
“The Chevrolet is obviously the strongest engine,” Power continued. “We made a couple adjustments for the Fast Six and the car was really good. I was able to get the pole.”
Power set the old record of 1:1.6026 in 2010, when he also won the race.
The record is an IndyCar record only. Sébastien Bourdais qualified with a lap of 1:00.928 during a ChampCar race in 2003.
Ryan Briscoe will start next to his Penske teammate on Sunday; the Penske pair swept the front row. If teammate Helio Castroneves had not damaged his car in the second round of qualifying he might have given the team a three-car sweep.
