Wilson hoping for more in Sonoma qualifying

Justin Wilson

Photo by: Jeff Davidson

Justin and Dale Coyne Racing qualified 10th for Sunday’s Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma, but a penalty for an unapproved engine change following a recent test means the #18 Sonny’s Bar-B-Q Honda will start from 20th on the grid.

Will Power took pole position (1:17.2709, 111.116mph), with his Team Penske team-mate Ryan Briscoe alongside him on the front row.

Justin’s team-mate James Jakes qualified 26th in the #19 Boy Scouts of America Honda.

During the first qualifying segment Justin set the 5th fastest time (1:18.7370) in Group 1, advancing to the top-12/Q2. There his fastest time (1:18.6258, 109.201mph) placed him 10th on the timesheets, but Justin felt he could have been closer to a place in the Firestone Fast Six had he not been held up by another car.

"I was pretty happy with the overall performance of the car today,” said Justin. “The team has done a great job all weekend and it was a shame that we couldn’t get the No. 18 Sonny’s Bar-B-Q Honda into the Firestone Fast Six.

The car handled really well and was pretty fast, but I got hung up a bit in second round qualifying, which hurt our time. The 10-grid spot penalty means we’ll have our work cut out tomorrow for the race, but I think we have a legitimate shot at getting a top-10 finish.”

Source: Justin Wilson