Power tops IndyCar test session Friday at Sonoma

Will Power

Three of the six Verizon IndyCar Series championship contenders were among the top five on the speed chart in the initial practice session for the title-deciding GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma on Aug. 30.

Reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion Will Power's year-old track record of 1 minute, 17.2393 seconds, set in qualifications on the 2.385-mile, 12-turn road course, will be challenged in the three rounds of qualifying Aug. 29.

Power, who is fourth in the standings, recorded the quickest lap of 1:17.4858 today in the No. 1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.

"It was the first time we got to try the new (Firestone primary) tire. Basically on a long run, it definitely degrades a lot. I think that will create good racing," said Power, who has won three times and added a second-place finish in the past five years at Sonoma Raceway. "It was a good session, but tomorrow, obviously, really counts.

"We're in a good window. Just go home, study and have a look and see if we can make good changes, see if we can go a little faster."

American Graham Rahal, who is 34 points behind championship front-runner Juan Pablo Montoya entering the season finale, was 0.1326 of a second off the top lap time in the No. 15 Steak 'n Shake Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

Ryan Hunter-Reay, who has won two of the past three Verizon IndyCar Series races in the No. 28 DHL Honda for Andretti Autosport, was third (1:17.6423). Three-time series champion Scott Dixon, who is fourth in the standings, was also fourth in practice (1:17.7937) in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.

Montoya, driving the No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, will chase his second career Indy car championship in the 85-lap race that features double base points in addition to the usual four bonus points available for earning the Verizon P1 Award (one point) in the three rounds of qualifying, leading a lap (one point) and leading the most race laps (two points).

He recorded a best lap of 1:18.0901 in today's practice, ninth quick in the 3-hour, 30-minute session. Four different teams were represented in the top five and the top 10 were separated by six-tenths of a second.

"I think we've been doing everything we need to put ourselves in this position," said Montoya, who has stood atop the standings since winning the opener March 29 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., to start his second Indy car season after a 14-year absence.

"It's been a very cool year," he said. "We had our struggles last year. We won a race and everything, but we struggled most of the year. So we did a little work over the winter to get where we needed to be. We've been really good all year."

Helio Castroneves, who was seventh on the practice time chart, and Josef Newgarden, who posted the 13th-quickest lap time, also are eligible for the title.

"Whatever is going to happen is going to happen with double points," Montoya added.

Montoya Chasers Know What They Must Do

The six drivers mathematically eligible for the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series championship heading into the race gathered to meet with media today before the practice session. While all five drivers trailing leader Juan Pablo Montoya realize their chances are slim, none are giving up.

"If there's a chance, it's possible," said Helio Castroneves, driver of the No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, who's fifth in points and trails Montoya by 77. "That's exactly the mentality we have."

All of the contenders chasing Montoya know the script is simple: Each pretty much must win the 85-lap race Aug. 30 and hope Montoya doesn't fare well.

"That's the best-case scenario," said Graham Rahal, 34 points behind Montoya in second place. "We finish third, fourth, fifth (in the race), it becomes obviously a bit more difficult because you're banking on Juan finishing 12th or worse. I don't think that's likely. We're going to go out there this weekend and do the best we can and try to get a win."

Will Power is the defending series champion, but knows what must happen if he has any hope of a repeat.

"Basically, I have to win, I need to get the bonus points," said Power, 61 points behind Montoya in fourth place. "These other guys have to have a really bad day. It's obviously kind of a long shot, you could say, when you're relying on someone to have a bad day, but it's still mathematically possible."

Power, Montoya and Castroneves all drive for Team Penske and make up half of the contenders' field. When asked if there were any team orders this weekend, Power quipped: "Don't take your teammate out. If it's not your teammate, take the others out, all of them."

POST-PRACTICE QUOTES:

WILL POWER (No. 1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): "It definitely was an interesting session. It was the first time we got to try the new (Firestone primary) tire. Basically on a long run, it definitely degrades a lot. I think that will create good racing. It was a good session, but tomorrow, obviously, really counts. We're in a good window. Just go home, study and have a look and see if we can make good changes, see if we can go a little faster."

GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 15 Steak 'n Shake Honda): "I think it was a good start for us. The beginning of the session, we weren't very good. We made some changes from the test and we were struggling pretty bad there. At the end of the day, we got the car turned around. The guys made some big changes. The guys did an excellent job back in the garage and got it turned really quickly. We went out there and it was miles better. We put a solid lap in there. We were on another one that was four tenths up on that one, but caught (Stefano) Coletti. The car seems good, it seems competitive, seems consistent. As Will (Power) talked about earlier today, it would be nice to start up front, but who knows what can happen. It's going to be a long race."

RODOLFO GONZALEZ (No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda): "I think we made a lot of good steps in practice today. I think it is the best we have started out any race weekend that I've done this year. I think the fact that we had so much time to run and log laps helped with that. It allowed me to get to know the track and be more level with the other drivers. I think to end up a few tenths behind my teammate shows that I'm just about at the limit of the car setup. I think we can work together to get a bit faster. The track is really fun and fast. It is probably my favorite track I've driven this year. I think I can get a bit faster and think we can do that tomorrow in practice. I'm feeling very positive right now."

TRISTAN VAUTIER (No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda): "Well, our session was shortened, obviously, because of the penalty (assessed after the Pocono race). We tried to make the most of the time we had by making quite a lot of changes to the car. We didn't really get to where we wanted to be. I thought we would have improved our time at the end on fresh tires, but the changes didn't quite work out. We will sit down and analyze why that is the case. I think we will get to where we need to be with a bit more time."

LUCA FILIPPI (No. 20 Fuzzy's Vodka CFH Racing Chevrolet): "It was a very long session which was a little unusual for us. It was good because it gave me time to learn the circuit. In the meantime, we experimented a lot in terms of setup. By the end of the day, I think we found what is good for tomorrow. We will be in a good position for tomorrow's practice session."

ORIOL SERVIA (No. 25 Andretti Autosport Honda): "It was a little bit what I expected after such a long time not being on a road course. These cars now have so much downforce, and this track is where you really feel it. It's just getting used to the car. I have not raced here in two years. The car feels good. Obviously this Andretti Autosport team has a good car. I just need to be able to use the new tires. Every time we put new Firestone tires on, I'm not using them yet. Overall, a good practice session. We tried a lot of things. We obviously want to be a lot faster than that, but I just really couldn't put it together on new tires. Hopefully tomorrow."

CARLOS MUNOZ (No. 26 AndrettiTV/Cinsay Honda): "Today was a long practice. We started out pretty good, but we didn't end up where we wanted to be. My AndrettiTV/Cinsay car feels good, competitive, but we'll go back and think how we can improve for tomorrow because tomorrow is what counts: one more practice and then qualifying. We'll see where we are tomorrow."

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 27 Snapple Honda): "Not a bad first day in the Snapple Honda. We had similar balance to our test day here a few weeks ago. We just ended today with some brake issues, so to be in the top five with some issues (is OK). Hopefully, if we sort those out, we'll be right there."

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 DHL Honda): "Today was a good test, a good first day of practice here at Sonoma. I'm optimistic for tomorrow and looking forward to getting together with my teammates and figuring something out for tomorrow's qualifying in the DHL Honda."

JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 67 Hartman Oil CFH Racing Chevrolet): "It was a long day. We started off with some experimentation between Luca and myself. Some stuff worked, some stuff didn't but towards the end I think we figured out some things we wanted for the weekend. I'm happy about where we finished. We'll make the most of all the data we got today and we are going to be a lot better tomorrow.

Results