SONOMA, Calif.- Team Penske is guaranteed to have the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series champion driver. The powerhouse operation celebrating its 50th anniversary in racing is also looking to close the season in dominating fashion at the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma.
Penske drivers Helio Castroneves, Will Power and Simon Pagenaud set the pace in the opening day of practice for Sunday’s 85-lap race on the Sonoma Raceway 2.385-mile permanent road course. Castroneves posted today’s quickest lap in the last of two practice sessions, at 1 minute, 16.6678 seconds (111.990 mph). It is less than a half-second off the track record set by Power a year ago.
“I love racing at Sonoma and the Hitachi Chevy was great today,” said Castroneves, the 2008 Sonoma race winner. “We had a really good test here last week and that certainly helped today.
“Some things were different on the track and the wind had changed from the test, but the consistency we had in the car helped us get the most out of the practice,” continued Castroneves, who hasn’t celebrated a victory in more than two years – 43 starts ago at Belle Isle in 2014. “It’s good to be on top, but you don’t get any points for leading practice. We have to keep pushing to stay on top. It’s going to be a great day on Sunday for Team Penske and we want to end the season right – with a win.”
Power was second on the time sheet at 1:16.7072 (111.932 mph), with Pagenaud third at 1:16.9757 (111.542 mph). Pagenaud and Power are the only drivers mathematically eligible for the 2016 championship, with Pagenaud holding a 43-point advantage. The Sonoma race pays double points, with a maximum of 104 available including bonus points.
“I think we’re both experienced enough to realize that, at the end of the day, it’s going to be what it’s going to be out on the track,” said Power, the 2014 series champion. “We have a realistic shot this weekend. Everything’s got to fall into place.”
Andretti Autosport showed impressive results with all four of its drivers finishing in the top 11. Ryan Hunter-Reay was fourth at 1:17.0569 (111.424 mph) and Alexander Rossi fifth at 1:17.0817 (111.388 mph).
“It was a positive day overall,” Hunter-Reay said. “I think we left some time on the table. We know where we have some imbalances to sort out tonight to come back and start Practice 3 and carry on into a qualifying effort.
“It’s a good platform to start from – we’re P4 right now and it’s encouraging for the DHL team. We’ve finished second here for the last two years in a row, so we’re really hoping to climb one more step up that podium this weekend.”
Practice resumes at 2 pm ET Saturday. Verizon P1 Award knockout qualifying rolls off at 6 pm ET.
