Power and Castroneves Hit the Streets of Baltimore
August 30, 2013
BALTIMORE, Md. (August 23, 2013) – Team Penske’s Will Power and Helio Castroneves got acclimated to the Grand Prix of Baltimore street course Friday as practice began for Sunday’s IZOD IndyCar Series race around the circuit.
Power, last week’s race winner in Sonoma, had the sixth-fastest lap during the afternoon session. His No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet was clocked at 1:19.8756 around the two-mile street course through downtown Baltimore’s inner harbor. Power ended the session in a tough spot as he nosed into the tire barrier at Turn 9.
“It was a decent start to the weekend today for the Verizon team,” said Power, who has won the last two series pole positions at Baltimore and won the race at the street circuit in 2011. “I think we still have a bit of work to do on the car to get it to where it needs to be and find some more speed. The track itself is very physical, especially the chicanes. Those are pretty tough. On the last lap there in the afternoon session I just locked up the tires going into Turn 9 and fortunately there wasn’t much in the way of damage to the front wing. We’ll give it another go tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, Castroneves posted the 13th fastest lap in the PPG Automotive Refinish Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet with a time of 1:20.4774.
“Baltimore is a different kind of place. It's a bumpy track, for sure, and it takes a lot out of you,” said Castroneves, who enters this weekend with a 39-point lead in the series standings with four races remaining in the season. “If you put a good lap together here you're really doing something because it's very difficult to control the car. But the PPG Team Penske guys did a good job today and we're looking for a brighter day tomorrow. We’ll be ready to go for qualifying.”
Practice resumes Saturday morning at 9:05 am ET before qualifying takes to the track at 12 noon. Qualifying will be seen at 6 pm ET Saturday on NBC Sports.
Follow the IndyCar action all season long on Verizon’s IndyCar 13 mobile app. Now available across all carriers, download it now by calling **INDY on your mobile phone or find it at the App Store and on Google Play.
Power, last week’s race winner in Sonoma, had the sixth-fastest lap during the afternoon session. His No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet was clocked at 1:19.8756 around the two-mile street course through downtown Baltimore’s inner harbor. Power ended the session in a tough spot as he nosed into the tire barrier at Turn 9.
“It was a decent start to the weekend today for the Verizon team,” said Power, who has won the last two series pole positions at Baltimore and won the race at the street circuit in 2011. “I think we still have a bit of work to do on the car to get it to where it needs to be and find some more speed. The track itself is very physical, especially the chicanes. Those are pretty tough. On the last lap there in the afternoon session I just locked up the tires going into Turn 9 and fortunately there wasn’t much in the way of damage to the front wing. We’ll give it another go tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, Castroneves posted the 13th fastest lap in the PPG Automotive Refinish Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet with a time of 1:20.4774.
“Baltimore is a different kind of place. It's a bumpy track, for sure, and it takes a lot out of you,” said Castroneves, who enters this weekend with a 39-point lead in the series standings with four races remaining in the season. “If you put a good lap together here you're really doing something because it's very difficult to control the car. But the PPG Team Penske guys did a good job today and we're looking for a brighter day tomorrow. We’ll be ready to go for qualifying.”
Practice resumes Saturday morning at 9:05 am ET before qualifying takes to the track at 12 noon. Qualifying will be seen at 6 pm ET Saturday on NBC Sports.
Follow the IndyCar action all season long on Verizon’s IndyCar 13 mobile app. Now available across all carriers, download it now by calling **INDY on your mobile phone or find it at the App Store and on Google Play.