Power determined to end race jinx

The KV Racing driver beat IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon to pole for the end-of-season non-championship race, having also taken the top spot in qualifying for the last two Champ Car events at the circuit.

But while Power has been unbeatable in qualifying at Surfers, his luck on race day has been abysmal, with collisions spoiling his races in every home appearance so far. A lapped 12th in 2006 is his best Surfers finish to date.

"I've been in this position three years in a row, so we have to get it done," said Power

"I can't believe I have another pole start here. But, it's only the pole and the goal is to win the race on Sunday.

"That's the big prize here. It was a mega last lap. We turned up with a pretty good car out of the box and the guys did great work. Hopefully we can get it done this weekend, because that's what we've been trying to do for the last three years.

"And I'm really happy for (team owners) Craig Gore, Kevin Kalkhoven and Jimmy Vasser. They have supported me through my whole professional career so I am really happy for them."

Gore, who brought Power into his Team Australia project at Surfers three years ago, is also desperate to finally see his team take a home win.

"So far we've done everything right," he said. "Now we need to execute our plan tomorrow and run a smart race.

"Will clearly has the speed around this track and he's in top form. Now we need to put it all together in the race on Sunday to get the Aussie Vineyards car where it deserves to be."

Power's KV teammate Oriol Servia is also running in Team Australia colours this weekend, and had looked capable of a top five start during practice. But the Spaniard was caught out by the rain early in qualifying and will start only 13th.

"I am obviously very disappointed," said Servia.

"I started the weekend bad by crashing in the first practice session. Then, just when I felt I was getting comfortable again with the KV Racing Technology/Team Australia car for qualifying, it rained.

"I thought I was going to finish fifth on the last lap and didn't want to risk too much in the wet spots, but it wasn't enough.

"It's not where I wanted to start. It's not what the car, or myself are capable of, but hopefully we will have a better day tomorrow in the race. The last few years I have qualified well, but haven't done well in the race, so maybe this year things will be different."