Two-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves set the fastest time at the event’s Pole Day at the weekend. Capetonian Tomas Scheckter qualified 12th and this team-mate, Scott Dixon, fourth.
Two-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves set the fastest time at the event’s Pole Day at the weekend. Capetonian Tomas Scheckter qualified 12th and this team-mate, Scott Dixon, fourth.
After posting the fastest average, Castroneves waited as two drivers – Marlboro Team Penske team-mate Gil de Ferran and Scott Sharp – tried to better his time. Both fell short, and Castroneves will begin his run for a record third consecutive Indy 500 win from the coveted pole position.
“This place is incredible,” Castroneves said. “You never can predict what’s going to happen. How many experienced guys all of a sudden didn’t have a chance? All of a sudden something bad happens.”
Castroneves was inside the front row in his Toyota-powered Dallara. Tony Kanaan will start in the middle of the front row in his Honda/Dallara, with Andretti Green team-mate Robby Gordon on the outside, also in a Honda/Dallara. Scott Dixon, Dan Wheldon and Kenny Brack will fill the second row.
Chip Ganassi Team Target Toyota driver Dixon set the early pace for the field, posting a 4-lap average speed of 370,308 km/h. He held provisional pole until Robby Gordon snatched the top spot away a few cars later. Dixon wound up qualifying fourth overall and was the fastest rookie qualifier, a strong achievement for the Kiwi.
Driving with a broken wrist and broken bones in his hand, the 22-year old had a fastest lap of 371,209 km/h in qualifying. Dixon took his first laps ever at the famous Brickyard circuit just a week ago. Furthermore, the #9 Target machine was the highest qualifying Panoz G Force chassis in the field.
His team-mate Scheckter averaged a speed of 366,558 km/h over his four-lap run, placing him on the outside of Row Four in 12th place. Last year, the South African led a race-high 85 laps in the Indy 500, before an accident ended his bid for the win with 28 laps remaining. “I won the Indy 450 last year”, joked Scheckter.
This week his crew focused primarily on race setup throughout the week, and the 23-year-old explained the reason for that approach: “It’s about the 500 miles that we race, not the 10 we qualify. We worked almost week on full tanks and race setups.
”We have a great race car. I learned a lot from last year. This year, I’m more intelligent and more focused on the big picture. We just wanted to get the car in the show. We took a conservative approach and ran quite a bit of downforce on the car,” he added.