The six competitors in the Firestone Fast Six for the Grand Prix of Baltimore presented by SRT had a combined 50 IZOD IndyCar Series pole starts -- all by Scott Dixon (19) and Will Power (31) -- which made them targets for four others seeking their maiden Verizon P1 Award.
Through the 10-minute session, though, it was Dixon who earned the award by blitzing the 2.04-mile, 12-turn street circuit in 1 minute, 18.0838 seconds on his final lap. Dixon broke a tie with Danny Sullivan and is tied with Gordon Johncock for 14th on the all-time pole-winning list.
Dixon picked up one bonus point for his second pole of the season and enters the 75-lap race 38 points behind championship front-runner Helio Castroneves, who qualified seventh in the No. 3 PPG Team Penske car.
Dixon recorded the fastest lap of the weekend in Group 1 of Round 1 of qualifications (1:17.9275), which bettered the 2012 pole time laid down by Will Power. Power was .0333 of a second behind Dixon in the Firestone Fast Six and will make his sixth front-row start of the season in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car.
Simon Pagenaud, who is coming off consecutive top-five finishes, will start a season-high third in the No. 77 Schmidt Hamilton HP Motorsports car. Justin Wilson (fourth) and Josef Newgarden (fifth) also had season-best qualifying efforts. Tristan Vautier, who won the Firestone Indy Lights race at Baltimore in 2012, qualified sixth as drivers from five teams made up the Firestone Fast Six.
Also on Aug. 31, Jack Hawksworth recorded a best lap of 1 minute, 24.9617 seconds to claim his second Sunoco Pole Award and sixth front-row start of the season for the Firestone Indy Lights Grand Prix of Baltimore.
Hawksworth, driving the No. 77 Schmidt Hamilton with Curb-Agajanian car, has won two of the three street course races this season.
Series championship points leader Carlos Munoz qualified second for the 35-lap race with a lap of 1:24.9924 in the No. 26 Dialy-Ser Andretti Autosport car. It's his eighth front-row start of the season and 12th in a row in the top five.
DAY 2 NOTEBOOK:
Replay XD will serve as primary sponsor of the Andretti Autosport car Zach Veach at this weekend's Firestone Indy Lights Grand Prix of Baltimore.
Replay XD produces HD POV Action Cameras that are used in motorsports and beyond, around the world.
JOHN SPAR (President of Replay XD): "We are extremely excited to have this opportunity to be included in the impressive ride of Zach's career. He is an amazing young man with amazing drive and talent. He and his father Roger have been incredibly important and helpful to RePlay XD's success. We at RePlay XD are proud to have them as part of the RePlay XD family. Having the opportunity for Replay XD to work with someone as dedicated as Zach and as devoted as his Andretti team is a true pleasure. The Replay XD team cannot wait to kick things into gear"
ZACH VEACH (No. 12 Replay XD/Andretti Autosport): "I've been associated with Replay XD for about 3 years now, brought them to the Pro Mazda series, and added everyone involved with it into my racing family. That's why having them come onto the car this weekend means so much!" said Zach Veach. "It's a product that I've always been a fan of, and to be associated with them means a lot to me. I'm very excited to see what the future has to offer!"
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IZOD IndyCar Series officials announced the following team will receive a 10-spot grid penalties for Sunday's race for an violation of the engine sporting regulations:
#16 Jakes (Rule 15.1.4)
15.1.4. (More than five engines): Each Full-Season Entrant will be provided with no more than five fresh built Engines throughout each year covered by an engine service agreement. Using more than five fresh Engines in a season will result in a penalty. Engines beyond the fifth fresh Engine may be fresh or part-used.
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INDYCAR officials issued the following bulletin to teams today regarding the circuit:
A Driver reentering the track from the runoff at Turn 1 will receive guidance from the Marshall, located Drivers left beyond the exit of Turn 1. When arriving at the cones at the reentry location (2 cones Drivers left) Drivers should pay heed to the Marshall for a reentry signal, which is a green flag.
Driver are reminded that all provisions of Rule 8.3.7 are in affect whenever reentering the track from run off areas.
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IZOD INDYCAR SERIES PRACTICE #3:
At 9 a.m., the ambient temperature was 79 degrees with a relative humidity of 86 percent and winds from the east-northeast at 1 mph. Skies were partly sunny. The track temperature was 71 degrees, according to Firestone engineers.
9:05 a.m. - GREEN. #9 Dixon first on track.
9:07 a.m. - RED FLAG. #3 Castroneves is off course in Turn 8. Car is restarted by the Holmatro Safety Team and returns to the pit lane under its own power.
9:10 a.m. - GREEN.
9:13 a.m. - RED FLAG. #12 Power and #9 Dixon make nose to tail contact in Turn 12. #9 Dixon does a quarter spin to the right and makes light contact with the wall. #12 Power continues with front wing damage. #9 Dixon is restarted by Holmatro Safety Team and returns to the pit lane under its own power but without the nose.
9:18 a.m. - GREEN.
9:20 a.m. - RED FLAG. #11 Kanaan is off course in Turn 4. #78 De Silvestro makes contact with the tire barrier in Turn 8.
9:27 a.m. - GREEN.
9:50 a.m. - CHECKERED.
QUALIFYING PROCEDURE FOR THE VERIZON P1 AWARD:
Qualifying for the Verizon P1 Award consists of three segments. In Segment One of qualifying, each group receives 10 minutes of track time. The fastest six cars from each group advance to Segment Two, while the remaining cars are assigned positions 13-26. Group One drivers will occupy the odd-numbered positions (13, 15, 17...) while Group Two drivers will occupy the even-numbered positions (14, 16, 18...) based on their fastest lap times.
During Segment Two, the 12 advancing cars receive 10 minutes of track time. The fastest six advance to the Firestone Fast Six Shootout while the remaining six cars are ranked in positions 7-12 based on their fastest laps.
During the Firestone Fast Six, the six cars receive 10 minutes of track time, with a guarantee of five minutes of green flag time. At the end of the session, the cars are ranked 1-6 based on their fastest laps.
Any driver who causes a red flag during any segment will lose their two quickest laps.
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VERIZON P1 AWARD QUALIFYING #1 SEGMENT ONE:
Segment One of qualifying is divided into two groups of 12 drivers each.
Qualifying laps will continue to be timed during local yellow conditions.
Competitors must exercise caution during a local yellow condition. Violators may be penalized; and there is no passing in a local yellow area.
A red condition will be declared when a car is in need of immediate assistance.
At noon, the ambient temperature was 87 degrees with a relative humidity of 55 percent and winds from the north at 3 mph. Skies were mostly sunny. The track temperature was 119 degrees, according to Firestone engineers.
Track record: Will Power,1:17.5921 (August 2012).
Quickest lap this weekend: #77 Simon Pagenaud, 1:18.4391
Noon - GREEN. First group on track.
12:10 p.m. - CHECKERED for first group. Top six cars: #9 Dixon, #12 Power, #14 Sato #1 Hunter-Reay, #15 Rahal #27 Hinchcliffe. Cars failing to advance: #16 Jakes, #10 Franchitti, #4 Servia, #78 De Silvestro, #6 Saavedra, #18 S. Wilson
Top time from first group: #9 Dixon, 1:17.9275
No. 6 time from first group: #27 Hinchcliffe, 1:18.5729
No. 7 time from first group: #16 Jakes, 1:18.6398
12:15 p.m. - GREEN. Second group on track.
12:20 p.m. - RED FLAG. Track inspection following contact with tires in the chicane by #7 Bourdais. #7 Bourdais will lose two fastest laps for causing the red flag in the session.
12:21 p.m. - GREEN.
12:25 p.m. - CHECKERED for second group. Top six cars: #77 Pagenaud, #55 Vautier, #3 Castroneves, #19 J. Wilson, #67 Newgarden, #83 Kimball. Cars failing to advance: #98 Filippi, #11 Kanaan, #25 Andretti, #20 Carpenter, #5 Viso, #7 Bourdais.
Top time from first group: #77 Pagenaud, 1:18.5983
No. 6 time from first group: #83 Kimball, 1:19.0835
No. 7 time from first group: #98 Filippi, 1:19.1242
VERIZON P1 AWARD QUALIFYING SEGMENT TWO:
At 12:30 p.m., the ambient temperature was 86 degrees with a relative humidity of 56 percent and winds from the north-northeast at 5 mph. Skies were mostly sunny. The track temperature was 122 degrees, according to Firestone engineers.
12:35 p.m. - GREEN. Track open to all 12 participants in second segment.
12:43 p.m. - #15 Rahal hits tire barrier in Turn 8. RED FLAG. #55 Vautier hits the disabled car of #15 Rahal. #15 Rahal will lose his two fastest laps for causing the red flag. He had been P4 at the time of the red flag per rule 8.3.4.
8.3.4. (Causing Red Flag in Qualifying): If a Car causes a red condition in any segment or otherwise interferes with qualifications as determined by the Race Director, the Car‟s best two timed laps of the segment shall be disallowed.
12:45 p.m. - CHECKERED. End of segment two. Top six cars: #12 Power, #67 Newgarden, #55 Vautier, #77 Pagenaud, #19, J. Wilson, #9 Dixon. Cars failing to advance: #3 Castroneves, #1 Hunter-Reay, #83 Kimball, #14 Sato, #27 Hinchcliffe, #15 Rahal. Top time from segment two: #12 Will Power, 1:18.4559
No. 6 time from segment two: #9 Scott Dixon, 1:18.8597
No. 7 time from segment two: #19 Justin Wilson, 1:19.0288
VERIZON P1 AWARD QUALIFYING FIRESTONE FAST SIX SHOOTOUT:
Engines in Firestone Fast Six: Honda 5 (#67 Newgarden, #55 Vautier, #77 Pagenaud, #19 J. Wilson, #9 Dixon), Chevrolet 1 (#12 Power)
12:55 p.m. - GREEN. #55 Vautier and #67 Newgarden on track on Firestone primary "black" tires.
12:59 p.m. - All cars on the pit lane.
1:01 p.m. - All cars on track on Firestone alternate "red" tires.
1:04 p.m. -- #67 Newgarden sets fastest lap 1:18.9022 then #12 Power takes provisional pole 1:18.1171.
1:05 p.m. - CHECKERED. #9 Dixon sets fastest lap 1:17.0838 on his final lap. He wins Verizon P1 Award. #12 Power will start second, joining Hunter-Reay on front row.
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VERIZON P1 AWARD QUALIFYING NOTES
This is Scott Dixon's 20th career Indy car pole and second pole of the season. He won the Verizon P1 Award at Toronto 2 this season.
This is Dixon's first pole at Baltimore and second front row start at the track. Dixon started on the front row at Baltimore in 2012.
Will Power qualified second. He has started in the first row in every start at Baltimore.
Simon Pagenaud qualified third. It is his best qualifying performance at Baltimore and best start of the season.
Justin Wilson qualified fourth in his first appearance in the Firestone Fast Six this season.
Josef Newgarden qualified fifth, his career-best qualifying performance. It his first start at Baltimore as he missed last year's race with an injury.
Tristan Vautier qualified sixth for his first start at Baltimore. It is his best start since he qualified third at Barber in April 2013.
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Qualifying Saturday for the Grand Prix of Baltimore IZOD IndyCar Series event on the 2.04 mile(s) Baltimore Street Circuit, with qualifying position, car number in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, time and speed in parentheses:
1. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 01:18.0838 (94.053)
2. (12) Will Power, Dallara-Chevy, 01:18.1171 (94.013)3. (77) Simon Pagenaud, Dallara-Honda, 01:18.4307 (93.637)
4. (19) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 01:18.8698 (93.115)
5. (67) Josef Newgarden, Dallara-Honda, 01:18.9022 (93.077)
6. (55) Tristan Vautier, Dallara-Honda, 01:19.0380 (92.917)
7. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Chevy, 01:19.0288 (92.928)
8. (1) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Chevy, 01:19.0367 (92.919)
9. (83) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Honda, 01:19.0523 (92.901)
10. (14) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 01:19.2216 (92.702)
11. (27) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Chevy, 01:19.3182 (92.589)
12. (15) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 01:22.2045 (89.338)
13. (16) James Jakes, Dallara-Honda, 01:18.6398 (93.388)
14. (98) Luca Filippi, Dallara-Honda, 01:19.1242 (92.816)
15. (10) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 01:18.6694 (93.353)
16. (11) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Chevy, 01:19.3051 (92.604)
17. (4) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Chevy, 01:18.8075 (93.189)
18. (25) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Chevy, 01:19.4738 (92.408)
19. (78) Simona De Silvestro, Dallara-Chevy, 01:18.9829 (92.982)
20. (20) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Chevy, 01:20.5694 (91.151)
21. (6) Sebastian Saavedra, Dallara-Chevy, 01:19.2440 (92.676)
22. (5) EJ Viso, Dallara-Chevy, 02:16.3120 (53.876)
23. (18) Stefan Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 01:20.1871 (91.586)
24. (7) Sebastien Bourdais, Dallara-Chevy, No Time No Speed
