Power earns Verizon P1 pole award for Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): It’s going to be a tough race. When it goes green, these temperatures are going to be very physical. There will be a lot of traffic and a lot of marbles so we’ll do everything we can to get the win. I love this place. It’s an awesome track. Very technical. Got to be fast. Got to be great. Definitely going to be a good race.

CARLOS MUNOZ (No. 34 Cinsay AndrettiTV.com HVM Honda): “Today went pretty well. It’s a shame that, in the end, we missed the Firestone Fast Six by such a small margin – it was really close. I’m happy; I think seventh place to start the race tomorrow is good. It’s a long race ahead – I think tire degradation is going to be the key, and we’ll see what happens. Hopefully at the next race we’ll be able to qualify in the Fast Six. My goal was to make it to the Fast Six… I had a good car to do it and we were all just really close. Anyways, I’m happy for my teammates who made it to the Firestone Fast Six.”

JACK HAWKSWORTH (No. 98 Charter/Castrol Edge Honda): “It was a really tough day. We’ve just not been quick enough all weekend, but the Bryan Herta Autosport guys are working hard to improve our speed. Despite the tricky conditions, we’ll keep our heads up and try to have a good day tomorrow.”

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA (No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet): “We’re gaining on it. We decided to use two sets in the first session to get an idea because we’ve been getting behind by not doing it. So we decided to do it and it was the right call. The problem is you play the penalty in the second qualifying. Kind of frustrating because we’re right there. But overall, I’m happy. We’re gaining on it. I think we have a really good race car and it’s amazing because, you know, every practice is better. Every qualifying is better. Yesterday we struggled a lot, but this morning we felt like we were better. It’s just a matter of getting the hang out it. Everyone has used the same amount of tires as I have right now. It is what it is, but it’s a better start. We’re mad because we didn’t make the top six, but I did my best qualifying by about half.”

GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 15 National Guard Honda): “We’ve made a lot of progress from yesterday to today. We tried some things for qualifying and need to take a look at them and regroup for the morning. We had a really great car in the race in Long Beach after some improvements in the morning warm-up and are hoping for the same here. We’re a strong group and we’ll keep fighting.”

ORIOL SERVIA (No. 16 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda): “Our position is not what we wanted or hoped for but only so many can get in Round 2. We just didn’t get it just right and as we were saying earlier, this track doesn’t forgive any unbalance. There are just too many corners and long corners. We just didn’t hit it right but we’re going to hit it right tomorrow. I had a one lap wonder which was the first lap on red tires that I think would have just made the cut but two cars in front of me came out of the pits and I had to give up in the middle of the lap. At that point we were already two-and-one-half tenths up. That was the lap when the tires were at the peak and I couldn’t do it again. But still we’re not where we need to be or where we’re hopefully going to be tomorrow.”

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 25 Snapple Honda): “That (qualifying position) is on me, the Snapple team gave me the car – I was on a lap good enough for P3 and almost crashed in Turn 12, I don’t know where it came from. I lost the back end and just saved it up to the line and we lost the time that we needed (for the Firestone Fast Six). But a credit to the team, they’re looking quick.”

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 DHL Honda): “Starting third is two shy of where we want to be but, it’s a good start. We can go to work from there and can definitely win this thing from third. It was a tight qualifying session today – we knew it was going to be. With the level of drivers and teams we have involved, it was going to be a fight to the very end. We tried it and came up short, but overall I think third is good for the No. 28 DHL Honda.”

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 27 United Fiber & Data Honda): “Very happy for the United Fiber & Data boys and everybody at Andretti Autosport – all the cars have been quick; having four cars starting in the top 10, that speaks volumes for the team. Second race in a row starting from the front so we’re looking forward to tomorrow. With the heat that we are going to face tomorrow and the tires going off the way they are, we figured either having one more run on that set, or a set with one less run on it was going to play into our hands tomorrow. We watched some other guys go out and we weren’t sure what to expect, a bit nervous on the timing stand there but we held our second place. And hopefully with one less heat cycle on the tires we’ll be in a better position tomorrow.”

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 AAA Insurance Team Penske Chevrolet): “I want to thank the AAA Insurance Team Penske boys. They’ve done a hell of a job this weekend, unfortunately, I let my boys down in qualifying. At the end of the day, it’s great that we’re right in the top six. It’s a long race. We know we have a good setup. We’ve run well here before. We’re looking forward for tomorrow.”

JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 67 Hartman Oil/Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda): “If you’re quick in all three practice sessions, it bodes better for the weekend. For us we found something that clicks better on the race car and for me. It’s hard to do in a small group. We don’t want to make any excuses, but we’ve just been getting better as a team. Everyone works together better. I’ve been doing a better job of helping the team find what we need. That’s crucial. I feel good about it. Think we have a better package than we’ve had around here in the past.”