Marco Andretti will start ninth in the Honda Indy 200 presented by Westfield Insurance Sunday afternoon. He'll have 85 laps to make his way to the front on the 2.25-mile, elevation-changing Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
He certainly saved the best for last during the first qualifying session Saturday afternoon. He moved on to the second round after turning in a final lap of 1:07.833 as part of group one.
Though he failed to make the Firestone Fast Six to compete for the pole position, Marco was able to secure the ninth starting position on the grid. His time in the second round of 1:07.543 earned him a spot in row five, opposite Simona de Silvestro.
In the 15-minute first session of qualifying, Marco was shown as eighth quickest most of the time, and it looked like his day would end without advancing to the Top 12. But it was his last lap that moved him up to P4 for the group and eventually into a higher starting position.
After strong qualifications but poor race results in 2007 and '08, Marco finished sixth last year at Mid-Ohio. He has only cracked the top-10 once in the past four races this season, and he might be looking to capture some of the same road-course magic that led him to a strong run in Alabama (He finished fifth.).
Marco's car also has a new look for the weekend. He's sporting the red, white and blue in his No. 26 machine, with sponsor Meijer visible as the main sponsor. He usually drives the black-with-red-trim Venom Energy Drink car.
Andretti Autosport teammates Tony Kanaan and Danica Patrick will start further back in the field at P20 and P22. But Ryan Hunter-Reay was a member of the Firestone Fast Six and will start fourth.
Will Power overcame an incident with the tire barrier during morning practice to win his seventh pole of the season, tying an IZOD IndyCar Series record set by his Penske teammate Helio Castroneves. Power turned in a time of 1:07.199 with a top speed just shy of 121 mph.
Tune in to see Marco, Power, the Andretti Autosport drivers and the rest of the expanded 27-car field Sunday at Mid-Ohio. Versus has the race coverage starting at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Comments
Great story, Heather. I'll bet it was fun to actually be there and write about your experience.
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