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The Firestone Fast 6 made for an interesting group. Multiple Indy 500 wins, Formula 1 wins, championships, and even a few Daytona 24 victories make up this group.
Early on Saturday, the IndyCar boys held their final practice. After topping the first two practice sessions and qualifying, guess who topped the final practice as well? Yup, Power once again had the speed and…erm…power…
Unlike 2016, the 2017 IndyCar Grand Prix featured no pre-race penalties for any qualifiers, so the quali times stood. Power’s car sits on the grid, ready for 65 laps of battle. Could he finally break the bad luck and notch a second Indy GP win? Or would something out of his control come back to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory?
Beside it, the identically prepared car of Helio Castroneves lies in wait to try and bring the old man back to victory. Despite a 3rd place finish in the points in 2016, it has been almost 3 years since Castroneves won a race. Helio is hungry for a win.
A wild Conor Daly appears. Conor now drives for AJ Foyt Racing and has been struggling mightily. A year ago, he lead the middle stint of the Indy GP due to brilliant Dale Coyne strategy. In 2017, he is last of all full time drivers in points. His 14th place starting position is an improvement, but there is still a long way to go before podiums and victories come.
JR Hildebrand is still nursing a broken left hand, sustained on the last lap of the Long Beach GP. He was forced to miss the Barber race, but he returned at Phoenix to finish 3rd. He is replacing Newgardenat ECR and has some big shoes to fill, as Newgarden finished 4th in points in 2016.
