LEXINGTON, Ohio (AP) — Will Power won his fifth pole of the season and fellow Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden qualified second for Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sport Car Course.
LEXINGTON, Ohio — When Conor Daly realized he had advanced out of the first round of qualifying Saturday afternoon at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, he let out a shout of relief. Not a sigh. A shout.
In a perfect world, the young A. J. Foyt Racing driver wouldn’ t celebrate qualifying 11th, which is what he did. In a perfect world, he’ d be fighting for poles with Scott Dixon, Helio Castroneves and Saturday’s pole winner, Will Power. But Daly’s world has been far from perfect this season. Before Saturday, he had only advanced out of the first round of qualifying once (Dual 2 in Detroit) .
“All season we’ ve been fighting so hard, and you come out of a qualifying session and you’ re like ninth or 10th; that means you’ re starting 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, ” Daly said of his frustration-filled season. “We’ ve started so far back almost every single time, so as soon as you make it to the next round of qualifying, boom, it’s top 12, and mentally, it’s just a huge relief realizing you can only do as bad as 12th.”
Conor Daly poses for the traditional photo at the yard of bricks with his car after qualifying for the 101st Indianapolis 500 in May. (Brian Spurlock, USA TODAY Sports)
Not long after qualifying, Daly was asked by IndyCar Radio what had made such a difference for he and Foyt this weekend.
A few things, Daly said. The team tinkered with the dampers, and that was a big part of the progress. He added that Foyt learned a lot from its recent test at Mid-Ohio. But then Daly mentioned something else, something unexpected: weight loss.
Daly shared that he’s lost nine pounds since switching to a vegan diet after the race two weeks ago in Toronto.
Daly always has been a big guy. Just the way he’s built, he said. It’s never held him back competitively, though. When he was younger, his teams in Europe used to complain he weighed too much.
“Staying light’s always been difficult for me, ” Daly said. “Especially having diabetes, I never know what’s right and what’s not.”
“I’ ll stay with it until I start feeling bad, ” Daly said, with a smile. “Technically, this is a healthy diet. But I’ ll keep training, keep doing what I do. I still go to the gym every other day, so we’ ll see what happens.”
Will Power won his 49th career pole position, at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Saturday. (Dan Hamilton, USA TODAY Sports)
Meanwhile, Power’s third pole at Mid-Ohio and fifth this season will have him starting on the front row here for the sixth year in a row. It’s the 49th of his career, which ties him with Bobby Unser for fourth all-time.
Power credits his qualifying success to a very simple plan: “It’s just a matter of getting it all together and understanding what you’ ve learned over that weekend and putting it all together during the qualifying, especially when it counts, the Fast Six, not use too much energy all weekend, ” he said.
“When you got to use it, use it. That’s what I do. Don’ t ever try to put it all out there in practice, then when I get to qualifying, especially the Fast Six, you got to really compete.”
Starting next to him on Row 1 is Team Penske teammate Josef Newgarden, whom Power edged by .2 seconds.
Takuma Sato and Ohio native Graham Rahal will line Row 2 to lead the Honda contingent. Joining those two in the top seven are Helio Castroneves, championship leader Scott Dixon and defending series champion Simon Pagenaud.
Coincidentally, the front seven drivers are the seven leading the points, so expect some hard racing from the front of the field Sunday (3 p.m. ET, CNBC) .
Filling out the remainder of the front 10 are James Hinchcliffe, Alexander Rossi and Friday’s practice session leader, Ryan Hunter-Reay.
Will Power, born March 1,1981, joined Champ Car Team Australia in late 2005. He became a full time IndyCar driver in 2008.
A clutch control unit failure at Sonoma Raceway ended Will Power’s outside shot at the IndyCar title. He finished in second, 127 points back of his teammate.
Will Power jumps from his car after winning the Kohler Grand Prix at Road America on June 26,2016.
Will Power celebrates after winning the second race of the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit Race on June 5,2016.
Will Power takes the checkered flag to win the second race of the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit at The Raceway at Belle Isle Park.
Will Power poses with his wife Elizabeth and the championship trophy after winning the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series championship, Aug. 31 at Fontana, Calif.
Will Power turns the top of his championship trophy into a hat after winning the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series title.
Will Power embraces his wife Elizabeth at Auto Club Speedway after winning the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series Championship on Aug. 30.
Will Power makes a pit stop during MAVTV 500, the final race of the 2013 IndyCar season, Saturday at Auto Club Speedway.
Power celebrates winning the first auto race of the IndyCar Detroit Grand Prix doubleheader in Detroit, Saturday, May 31,2014.
IndyCar Series driver Will Power during the 2014 Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Will Power, of Australia, celebrates after winning the IndyCar Grand Prix of St. Petersburg auto race Sunday, March 30,2014, in St. Petersburg, Fla.
IndyCar Series driver Mike Conway goes airborne over Will Power as they crash in turn one during the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Power driver of the #12 Team Penske Dallara Chevrolet celebrates after winning the IndyCar Series Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on the streets of Long Beach on April 15,2012.
Will Power, right, and Dario Franchitti celebrate in victory lane following the Firestone Twin 275s at Texas Motor Speedway on June 11,2011 in Fort Worth.
Will Power celebrates after winning the IZOD IndyCar Series Grand Prix of Sonoma at Infineon Raceway on August 22,2010 in Sonoma, California.
Will Power celebrates winning the IZOD IndyCar Series Camping World Grand Prix at the Glen at Watkins Glen International on July 4,2010 in Watkins Glen, New York.
Power during qualifying for the IRL IndyCar Series 93rd running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 9,2009 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Will Power makes a pit stop during the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 25,2008.
Winner Will Power is sprayed with champagne by second place finisher Franck Montagny of France, during the Champ Car World Series Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 20,2008, in Long Beach, California.
Champ Car driver and second place finisher, Robert Doornbos (left) , of Netherlands, pours champagne on Will Power, winner of the Vegas Grand Prix auto race, on Sunday, April 8,2007, in Las Vegas.
