June 17, Speedway, IN.  Today 18 year old Marco Andretti showed just how real his stunning driving talent is when he won the pole for the first ever Menards Infiniti Pro Series Liberty Challenge road race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Tomorrow’s race will be the second of this year’s two Pro Series venues which provide increased media coverage for the Series.  The first was the Futaba Freedom 100 which was held for the first time on the same day as the Indy 500 Carb Day.

The race tomorrow is on the same day as qualification for the Formula One U.S. Grand Prix.  Media coverage of both of these Pro races has been buoyed by the presence of Marco Andretti and his father Michael’s Andretti-Green Team, as well as  that of Marco’s grandfather and “coach” , former F1 World Champion and Indy 500 winner, Mario Andretti.

Marco exploded onto the national and international media stage after winning the pole and race at his first Pro race, and the IRL’s first road/street race at St. Petersburg, in April.   His second Pro race was the Futaba Freedom 100.  Although Marco did not have the same success there as in his first race, he still drew enormous media attention.  Now the world will see him on the pole again in his third Pro race.  

As has become evident this weekend, Marco’s media impact appears to be shaping up as the Pro Series’ version of Danica Patrick.  They are both just what the IRL needs. 

Qualifying beside Marco on the first row is Nick Bussell of JL West Motorsports.  This will be Bussell's first front row start.  The second row on the starting grid will see Jeff Simmons of Kenn Hardly Racing and Brian Stewart Racing’s Wade Cunningham side by side.  Cunningham was engaged in a great battle with Andretti for the win at St. Pete. 

Sam Schmidt Motorsports, used to seeing itself on the front row, finds itself in the unfamiliar position of owning the third row.  There you will see Jaime Camara and Chris Festa. 

The field of 14 also includes the return of Arie Luyendyk Jr. to the IMS after his experience in this year’s Indy 500 where he was bumped from the field during the last hour of qualification.  A surprise entry into the field is IndyCar Series Vision Racing’s Ed Carpenter.  Ed will be running to get some additional road racing experience.

Also of special note is the fact that Marty Roth, who will be starting seventh, will become the first driver in the history of the IMS to drive in three different races here in one year – in fact in less than one month.  Those are the Futaba Freedom 100 Pro race on the IMS oval followed by the Indy 500 and thirdly the Liberty Challenge Pro race on the IMS road course.

Because of limited track time, qualifying was conducted using the "old school" Formula One method of ordering the field based on fastest lap times from practice.  In addition to making some fans at the speedway wish that the FIA would take a page out of the IPS's book and revert its new qualifying system, this decision by the IPS series leadership helped get the majority of drivers much more track time (and practice)  than they would have received with a one-lap qualifying format.

Look for all kinds of history to be made by the Pro Series tomorrow!