Will Power watches as his crew prepares the No. 12 car on Saturday. Photos by Ryan ZumMallen

A long and distinguished list of open-wheel racers will be led by Australian driver Will Power toward the green flag in the 37th annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach today at 1:30pm.

Power has won three consecutive pole positions at Long Beach, but has not won the race since 2008, when the event was a Champ Car race and the series had not yet joined with the IRL to form IndyCar. To win his first IndyCar race in Long Beach, then, Power will have to overcome both determined opponents as well as bad luck.

In 2009, Power was leading the race when he lost communication with his team, and a misunderstanding caused him to slow down when he believed the race was under caution. He lost two positions and finished second as Dario Franchitti went on to win.

In 2010, Power again led the race until he was unable to shift up on the Shoreline Drive high-speed straightaway. He again lost two positions and finished in third, though it was his fourth consecutive podium finish in Long Beach.

But podium finishes are not enough for Power. He practiced well all weekend and when defending Long Beach champion Ryan Hunter-Reay laid down an impressive 1:09.141 in the qualifying session, Power seemed to take it personally and one-upped him with a 1:09.065 to win the pole and its $10,000 prize. But you can bet that isn’t the prize he’s interested in.

“I’ve been trying to win [Long Beach] for the last couple of years, you know, just sort of there knocking on the door,” Power said after qualifying. “But as you know, in racing everything has to go right on the day, absolutely everything. I think that that’s what we’ve got to do tomorrow.”

Power will be followed by a host of drivers intent on prolonging his Sisyphean bad luck. Hunter-Reay did qualify second, and that means he’ll start alongside Power as IndyCar adopted new rules this season that force drivers to perform starts and re-starts in a double-file formation. The second row will feature Mike Conway and Oriol Servia, while Justin Wilson and Helio Castroneves round out Row 3.

The new starting formation has been a point of contention among drivers this season, as several early accidents have taken teams out of races on the first lap. The double-file start makes for exciting watching, but extra caution must be taken or there could be mayhem, particularly on a narrow street circuit such as Long Beach.

“No one wants the team owners to spend $2 million at Turn 1, so it’s a fine line,” said Wilson (pictured right) on Saturday.

The tall Brit is looking to change some bad luck of his own. While running in second place last year, he was forced to pit after making contact with a slower driver and clipping off his front wing. Wilson said he believed he could have made a run for the win if not for the accident.

In 2008, the final running of the Grand Prix of Long Beach as a Champ Car event, Wilson qualified on pole position but was overtaken by eventual-winner Power in the first corner. He would retire from the race after just twelve laps due to mechanical problems.

Other notable drivers include 2009 Long Beach champion Dario Franchitti in seventh place, Scott Dixon in eighth and Tony Kanaan in tenth.

Once seen as the stars of the future, chosen sons Marco Andretti and Graham Rahal are on the brink of being labeled underachievers and will start 14th and 16th, respectively. Fan favorite Danica Patrick will start in 20th, but its Simona De Silvestro who has looked like the best female driver in IndyCar this season and she will stat 18th. Three-time Long Beach champions Sebastien Bourdais and Paul Tracy will start near the back in 21st and 25th, respectively.

Pre-race festivities begin at 12:30pm and the 37th annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach will begin at 1:30pm.