Will Power dominates opening day in Surfers

Fast man Will Power with Queensland Premier Anna Bligh after practice Friday

Jim Haines/IRL

Will Power made a strong statement that he will be a contender to win in his home country by leading both Oct. 24 practice sessions for the Nikon Indy 300 on the streets of Surfers Paradise.

The Team Australia driver was quickest overall with a best lap of 1 minute, 34.8084 seconds (106.130 mph) on the 2.795-mile, 12-turn circuit. Team Penske's Helio Castroneves was second quick (1:36.1609; 104.637 mph) and Dario Franchitti, making his debut in the No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car, was third (1:36.1712; 104.626).

Power's KV Racing Technology teammate, Oriol Servia (1:36.4394; 104.335), was fourth quick and Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing teammates Graham Rahal (1:36.4963; 104.273) and Justin Wilson (1:36.5127; 104.256) were in the top six. Reigning IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon (1:36.5812; 104.182) was seventh on the chart.

Rahal Letterman Racing's Ryan Hunter-Reay, the 2003 race winner, was eighth (1:36.8863; 103.854) and Team Penske's Ryan Briscoe was ninth (1:37.5183; 103.181). Tony Kanaan led the four-car Andretti Green Racing express in 10th (1:37.5488; 103.148).

POST-PRACTICE QUOTES:

WILL POWER (No. 8 Aussie Vineyards-Team Australia, Fastest of the day): "It was a very good day for the No. 8 KV Racing Technology – Team Australia car. It’s still early and qualifying isn’t until tomorrow. That and Sunday are all that matter to me. I am glad we are quick, but we still need to improve the car a bit tonight. This is a very competitive field and we will have to be faster tomorrow."

DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing, third-fastest of the day): “I wasn’t sure how we were going to do. I’ve been out of the car for a year, driving stock cars and others. I have to thank the guys for giving me a good car. I haven’t been here for five or six years, and I was surprised how quickly it came back to me. First lap out it felt like I haven’t been away. I was really happy with our performance and we’ll keep pushing tomorrow."

ORIOL SERVIA (No. 5 Aussie Vineyards-Team Australia, fourth-fastest of the day): “It seems like the #5 KV Racing Technology – Team Australia car is good shape. Will (teammate Will Power) showed the speed that the car has, which is very good. I hurt my chances by crashing in the first practice, so am a little behind on the laps. But, the crew did a great job getting the car back together and I really want to thank them. Also, I know, and really like, this track, so I am confident we are going to get back to the top."

GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 06 Hole in the Wall Camps Dallara/Honda/ Firestone, fifth-fastest of the day): “I think there is a little more in the car but overall the day went as well as I could have imagined it going. Of course it would be nice to be first but it kind of seems like (Will) Power is in a league of his own right now but I think that we are definitely pretty close. Our car is pretty good and with a little bit of fine tuning it should get us to where we need to be to challenge for the pole and everything else. It’s definitely not far off and the nice thing is knowing that we are so close. Before the last session we were sitting in the trailer comparing Indy car data with Champ Car data just to look at racing lines. It is different driving here in the Indy car. It feels different and a little harder over the curbing. We made a lot of strides today just making it better over the curbing and that’s what we needed."

Justin Wilson, No. 02 McDonald’s Dallara/Honda/Firestone:
“This morning went a little smoother than this afternoon for the McDonald’s team. On old tires we were very quick but this afternoon wasn’t as good and we lost a little bit of performance but I’m confident we can come back tomorrow and fight for pole. We went back on some things we changed and got the performance back but never got to complete a lap after that because there were so many yellows. I was on a pretty good lap that the engineers figured would put me around second fastest but the yellow came out. We’ll see what we can do tomorrow but I’m confident we’ll be up there trying to get pole. I think the experience of having come here before in a Champ Car counted for a lot as well as the knowledge we gained in the Indy car at the other street races this year. I think the experience we gained this year played into it more than anything else. We’re learning all the time. We’re still developing the car and still haven’t tested this car on a road or street circuit yet so we’re still out there in pit lane changing big things because its our chance to learn what the car can do. Its just part of the process of coming over to a new series. You make two steps forward and one step back and try to work out what’s good and what’s bad."

Danica Patrick, #7 Motorola Dallara/Honda/Firestone
"This is a challenging track, for sure. This being my first time to the track is definitely showing. I used today to try and get my references for breaking and just trying to get used to being on the track. I improved from the first session to the second, so I hope by tomorrow's qualifying run we will have a better feel and idea on what really needs to be done to get the Motorola car faster."

Tony Kanaan, #11 Team 7-Eleven Dallara/Honda/Firestone
"The Team 7-Eleven car was pretty good in the morning session. Unfortunately we didn't make a lot of progress in the afternoon. We'll think about it overnight and come back tomorrow and try to make some positive changes for qualifying. The Team 7-Eleven car is good, but we have to make it a bit better."

Marco Andretti, #26 Blockbuster Dallara/Honda/Firestone
"We were fighting a couple of issues with the Blockbuster car today. We lacked overall grip and the traction is not good right now. This is a very challenging circuit, especially for the new drivers here. I'm finding it really difficult to go fast. All the time is in the curves. We're working on it and hopefully it will come but this place is tougher than most to get up to speed."

Hideki Mutoh, #27 Formula Dream Dallara/Honda/Firestone
"This is a very hard track to get used to. I am still learning the track so with time hopefully we will make the necessary adjustments. The Formula Dream team is working really hard to try and figure out what we need to do to get some more speed."

Ed Carpenter (on his first impression of the street course at Surfers):
"The first time out I don't think I liked any of the track at all. Even though we had walked it and seen it on TV, it's pretty eye opening that first time you get out there. The second session things started feeling a whole lot better and there was more time in the car. I kept catching yellows so I didn't really get a chance to put a good run together in that session but I'm feeling a lot more confident at the end of the day. It's fun and I'll definitely be learning on every lap this weekend. It is by far the hardest street course I have ever run and it's a good challenge."

A.J Foyt IV (on his first impression of the street course at Surfers):
"I think it is a really fun course, really challenging, and really fast. I was really enjoying it until the end of the second practice when I went off. I feel like we are doing pretty good when you compare us with the group of guys that have never raced here before. I'm excited about the progress the team was making. I feel bad about damaging the car but we have to get back out there and try to pick up even more. (about the track) Each chicane is really different but the big chicane in the back is really the most challenging, and there are some sharp corners. But they are all fun if you get them just right. The course is really cool."

Practice 2 Results

Combined Practice Results