Verizon IndyCar Series drivers have said to "expect the unexpected" on the new Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course for the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis. Sebastian Saavedra earning the Verizon P1 Award fits into that category.

The AFS KV AFS driver claimed his first Verizon IndyCar Series pole position topping a wild knockout qualifying session that took place during a rain shower.

Saavedra, whose previous best qualifying effort on a road/street circuit was ninth in the first two events of 2013 (St. Petersburg and Barber Motorsports Park), inherited the top spot in the closing minute of the Firestone Fast Six when the No. 28 DHL car of provisional pole sitter Ryan Hunter-Reay spun and made contact with the wall on the frontstretch of a rain-soaked 2.439-mile, 14-turn.

According to the Verizon IndyCar Series rulebook, Hunter-Reay's quickest two laps of the 10-minute session were disallowed.

Saavedra is the fourth different pole sitter in as many races this season and he'll be joined by another surprise driver, Jack Hawksworth of BHA/BBM with Curb-Agajanian. Six different teams were represented on the first three rows for the standing start on the Speedway's frontstretch. Hunter-Reay ended up third and will start alongside Simon Pagenaud, who was quickest in the morning practice session and set the lap record (1:09.6716) on the reconfigured track in Segment 1 of qualifying on dry pavement in the No. 77 Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports car.

Series championship points leader Will Power, driving the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car, and reigning series champion Scott Dixon in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing entry are on Row 3.

DAY 2 NOTEBOOK:

Simon Pagenaud will turn 30 on May 18, and gave himself a birthday gift a few days early.

The Verizon IndyCar Series driver took delivery of a 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback -- a car he calls his American dream car - last weekend. He christened the car, which he calls Miss Madison, by driving it to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"(Damon Sturrock) did exactly what I wanted. It's exactly the look I was wanting," Pagenaud said of the owner of SNAKEPIT CUSTOMS. "From where the car was when I found it. I won't say it was in a junkyard, but it wasn't the best garage you can find. The way she looks today is absolutely stunning. It's probably the prettiest car I've ever had or seen. It drives very well from the brakes to the Hotchkiss suspension and those American Racing Wheels are the best. Personally, I'm in love."

Pagenaud brought the car in California last fall just before the Verizon IndyCar Series season finale at Auto Club Speedway. And though it was rust-free, he had his own vision for the car. Sturrock, a long-time Indy car mechanic, worked on the car over the winter.

"It feels like an everyday car now," said Pagenaud, who had dreamed of owning a Mustang since hearing stories of his grandfather importing a Bullitt Mustang to France before he was born. "I wanted something that felt good and felt safe. I think my girlfriend is more excited than I am. She loves it just as much as I do. Hopefully, she'll let me drive it."

The project was the first for Sturrock, who will spend the Month of May with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports as chief mechanic for the entry driven by 1995 Indianapolis 500 winner Jacques Villeneuve.

"When I was 19, I had a '67 Mustang Fastback that I built the motor and did suspension work on it and on my test drive, the engine ripped off the frame when I hit the gas," Sturrock said. "Back then I didn't have the skill or the knowledge to fix something like that, so I sold it and always had regrets about it. To build this car for Simon was awesome. It's fantastic."

Pagenaud says he wants to drive the car to Speedway, but the notoriety he's already gained might make him more visible than he hoped for.

"I made it black because I wanted to be under the radar with the police," he said. "With all the people who were looking at it already on the road, I feel very proud. She is like my baby. I got to design it and choose every piece that went on her. I'm honored people like it."

***

Celebrity Chefs Spike Mendelsohn and Vic Vegas visited the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday and were treated to a ride in an IndyCar Experience two-seater. Mendelsohn and Vegas are in town to take part in REV, which will take place on the grounds of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

REV is a Methodist Health Foundation marquee event for Indiana University Health and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to raise funds to provide support for IU Health Statewide Trauma programs, including medical services for drivers and patrons of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

SPIKE MENDELSOHN: "It's an honor to be involved with the Rev event. It's for a great cause. It's bringing a really great community of people down here who enjoy the race culture, some good chefs and some foodies. We're looking forward to putting out some good food for tonight. It's a great extension of my job. This day and age, the food business has been so good and there are so many different avenues to get involved in so many different things. I think this opportunity is well-fitting for us and I'm so excited about it." (On taking a ride in an IndyCar two-seater this morning): "Oh my god, it was amazing. We woke up at 8 a.m. and took the LifeLine helicopter ride right to the track. Then we went in the two-seater cars. I was with Arie (Luyendyk) and he holds the record down here on the track, so I was super excited. It was an exhilarating moment. I'm kind of a speed junky myself, so it's been something I've been waiting to do for a while. It's all smiles today."

VIC VEGAS: "We actually get to feed a bunch of people and show some of our classic family dishes left by Grandma and Mom. We get to share it with all these great people out here." (This is a neat extension of your job, isn't it?): "I forgot about the word 'job' for some reason in this equation. This is called living life." (And you got to live life this morning doing the two-seater): "From helicopter rides to 'Hey, Mario Andretti. I always wanted to meet you. You mean I'm getting in a car with you? Wait a minute, you're going 200 miles per hour?' It's a dream. I don't want to wake up right now."

***

Davey Hamilton, co-owner of Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports which fields driver Simon Pagenaud in the No. 77 Honda in the Verizon IndyCar Series, has been driving the Indy Racing Experience 2-seater program at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. Hamilton was a Verizon IndyCar Series driver from 1996-2001. A severe accident at Texas Motor Speedway caused him to sit out a number of years, but he returned to drive from 2007 to 2011.

DAVEY HAMILTON - "I think the (Grand Prix of Indianapolis) is going to be cool. Simon (Pagenaud) is P1, so I love that - being on top of the charts. He was second (fastest) yesterday and quick today. I think it's cool. Unfortunately, I don't get to be here for the race. I'm going to be racing a supermodified tomorrow in New York. Hopefully, I will catch it on TV. The road course is cool. It's fast. It's a fast road course with 125 mile per hour average speeds. It's going to get faster as rubber gets down. For a 14-corner road course, that's cookin'. The great thing is, after being out there with the two-seaters, there are plenty of good passing zones. I think it is going to be a great race. I hope it is supported. I hope it's the right move for everybody. I think the excitement is here. I mean, we're at Indy. That hasn't changed. I dig it."

VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES PRACTICE #3

At 10 a.m., the ambient temperature was 67 degrees with a relative humidity of 77 percent and winds from the north-east at 4 mph. Skies were cloudy and light rain was falling. The track temperature was 73 degrees, according to Firestone engineers.

10 a.m. - GREEN. Session will be the full 45 minutes.

10:13 a.m. - RED FLAG. #8 Briscoe has spun off course in Turn 4. Car has made light contact with the tire barrier. Car is assisted by the Holmatro Safety Team and returns to the pit lane under its own power.

10:20 a.m. - GREEN.

10:45 a.m. - RED and CHECKERED. #7 Aleshin has spun at the exit of Turn 6.

FASTEST TIMES/SPEEDS OF SESSION:

Pos./Car/Name/Time

1.77//Simon Pagenaud/1:23.1579

2./98/Jack Hawksworth/1:23.1732

3./27/James Hinchcliffe/1:23.3126

4./12/Will Power/1:23.3589

5./34/Carlos Munoz/1:23.3622

QUALIFYING 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. Each car receives one additional set of Firestone Firehawk tires for use during this final segment. 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 of the groups will lose their two quickest laps.

The timeline for qualifying today is between Turns 10 and 11.

At 1:45 p.m., the ambient temperature was 72 degrees with a relative humidity of 69 percent and winds from the northeast at 7 mph. Skies were mostly cloudy. The track temperature was 89 degrees, according to Firestone engineers.

Fastest lap this weekend: #9 Scott Dixon, 1:10.2654 (Practice 2).

2 p.m. - GREEN. Round 1. Group 1.

2:03 p.m. - Light rain reported over the south-end of circuit in Turn 10.

2:10 p.m. - CHECKERED. Advancing to Round 2 are: #77 Pagenaud, #12 Power, #27 Hinchcliffe, #3 Castroneves, #17 Saavedra, #28 Hunter-Reay. Lap time of #77 Pagenaud 1:09.6716 is a track record.

2:15 p.m. - GREEN. Round 1. Group 2.

2:25 p.m. - CHECKERED. Advancing to Round 2 are: #2 Montoya, #11 Bourdais, #7 Aleshin, #9 Dixon, #10 Kanaan and #98 Hawksworth.

2:27 p.m. - Rain is falling over the Speedway on the frontstretch.

Verizon IndyCar Series officials have penalized #7 Aleshin his two fastest laps for qualifying interference with #11 Bourdais. #15 Rahal will advance to Round 2.

2:35 p.m. - GREEN. Round 2. The use of wet tires has been allowed by Race Control.

2:45 p.m. - CHECKERED. Advancing to Firestone Fast Six are: #98 Hawksworth, #12 Power, #9 Dixon, #28 Hunter-Reay and #77 Pagenaud.

2:55 p.m. - GREEN. Firestone Fast Six. Heavy rain reported over the circuit.

2:56 p.m. - RED FLAG. Track inspection due to conditions. When the session resumes, it will be complete restart of the clock for the full 10 minutes.

3:10 p.m. - GREEN. Firestone Fast Six has resumed after a delay of 14 minutes.

3:17 p.m. - With three minutes remaining in the session, fastest is #17 Saavedra 1:23.8822, the #28 Hunter-Reay takes fastest lap with

3:18 p.m. - RED FLAG. #28 Hunter-Reay spins in Turn 14 and makes hard rear contact with the wall on the frontstretch. Car will lose its two fastest laps for causing a red flag in the session.

3:20 p.m. - CHECKERED. Sebastian Saavedra has claimed the Verizon P1 Award for the Grand Prix of Indianapolis.

GRAND PRIX OF INDIANAPOLIS QUALIFYING NOTES:

· This is the first pole for Sebastian Saavedra in the Verizon IndyCar Series. His previous best start was sixth at Milwaukee in 2013.

· Jack Hawksworth qualified second - his best start in the Verizon IndyCar Series. It is his second appearance in Firestone Fast Six in four starts. He was also in Firestone Fast Six at Long Beach.

· Ryan Hunter-Reay qualified third. He is the only driver to qualify for every Firestone Fast Six session this season.

· Simon Pagenaud qualified fourth. His lap of 1:09.6716 from Round 1 set a track record for the modified Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

· Will Power qualified fifth, his third top five start in four races in 2014.

· Scott Dixon qualified sixth. It is his fourth straight start in the top-seven for every race this season.

SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE

7 a.m. - Garage opens

10:30 a.m. - Verizon IndyCar Series Systems Check (one time out and in).

2:45 p.m. - Grand Prix of Indianapolis pre-race

3:43 p.m. - "Drivers Start Your Engines"

3:50 p.m. - Green Flag, Grand Prix of Indianapolis (82 laps/200 miles), ABC (Live).