IndyCar - De Silvestro Home And Fast Again

Editor's Note: During Sunday's morning practice Tony Kanaan and Helio Castroneves had a shunt that destroyed both cars and pushed them to the back of the grid. Therefore, Simona ultimately started 10th for the Baltimore Grand Prix.

Baltimore, September 4, 2011: On Saturday, Simona De Silvestro proved that she wouldn't be deterred by last week's events, as she put forth a solid qualifying effort for Sunday's Baltimore Grand Prix.

A week of uncertainty followed a misunderstanding with the U.S. Customs & Border Patrol office, forcing De Silvestro to return to her home country of Switzerland. She arrived in Baltimore on Thursday afternoon, where she and her team quickly got to work preparing the car for the race weekend.

This is the second visit to Baltimore for the Swiss driver. She and her team visited this market in February to announce a three-year sponsorship deal with Entergy Nuclear and kick off the Nuclear Clean Air Energy campaign. Because of the campaign's continued success, HVM Racing and Entergy are also joined this weekend by AREVA, the global leader in nuclear energy.

In front of what De Silvestro referred to as a "home crowd," she was able to advance to the second round of qualifying and put the car in P12 to start Sunday's inaugural race on the streets of Baltimore.

"I feel really good about what we did out there today," said De Silvestro after her qualifying run. "We were able to make the top twelve and I'm proud of the Nuclear Clean Air Energy team for giving me a good car. I'm okay with starting mid-pack tomorrow. We're just going to have to drive a smart race and I'm confident that we'll be able to bring home a solid finish."