Dixon wins Indy 500 pole as Ganassi team goes 1-2

Scott Dixon on his way to pole position

Steve Snoddy/IRL

Proving that the car is nearly 100% of the game in the IRL, Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Scott Dixon and Dan Wheldon will start 1-2 for this year's Indy 500 by running 100% throttle for four laps resulting in almost near identical lap times. Underscoring the 100% throttle effort, Penske teammates Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves were 3rd and 4th ahead of three Andretti Green Racing teammates Danica Patrick, Tony Kanaan and Marco Andretti.

Quotes | Press Conference

The lineup is Ganassi-Ganassi-Penske-Penske-AGR-AGR-AGR so you can see the pattern. 100% throttle oval racing is all about minimizing wind resistance (expensive wind tunnel time) and reducing rolling friction losses (expensive minute mechanical changes) so the hope is that with the 2010 car the IRL will think seriously about putting the driver back in the equation because the current formula has pretty much removed the driver completely.

All the ex-Champ Car teams failed to qualify because they have the base car that comes from Dallara and with the merger coming so late, have had no time to develop the cars aerodynamically and to reduce rolling resistance. Hence they are all running 100% throttle but the times just are not there despite taking all the wing out of the car.

Bruno Junqueira spins

Jessica Hoffman/IRL

Two cars spun on the day – Bruno Junqueira and Ryan Hunter-Reay.

With the rules permitting three qualifying attempts per day, and with his first attempt not fast enough to make the top-11 and lock him in for the 500, Ryan Hunter-Reay went back out with 45 minutes left in the session, needing to find less than a single mile per hour for the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500.

When his first lap left him shy of qualifying, Hunter-Reay used his in-car adjustments and kept his foot in it to milk every last drop of speed out of his Dallara – but it would not be enough.

Hunter-Reay’s car spun in Turn Three and backed into the SAFER barrier, damaging his car and ending his chance to qualify on the first day.

“We had the speed yesterday so we had a taste of it, but we just couldn’t recreate it today," lamented Hunter-Reay, who was uninjured in the accident and was immediately cleared to continue driving by IndyCar physicians. “I was trying to tune the car like we did yesterday from inside the cockpit, but we just didn’t have it.

“We wanted to make the car a little better on the exit because that is where we were having trouble, but we were on the edge and we just went over. I knew that it was going to be very close to being trouble, but I’m a race car driver and I just wanted to get everything I could out of it. I’ve been in the Ethanol car for six or seven months and this is our first crash, and I’m happy to be able to walk away from it."

A total of 32 qualifying attempts were made during the noon-6 p.m. qualifying session to set the first 11 starting positions in the 33-car starting field. Second-day qualifying on Sunday will set the next 11 grid positions, with qualifying for the final 11 positions and "bumping" taking place on May 17-18.

Scott Dixon (#9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Pole Qualifier, his first Indianapolis 500 pole in six attempts (best previous start was 4th in 2003, 2006 and 2007): "It hasn't really sunk in yet. It means a lot. It's the hard work that goes into it. Indy for our team starts well early in the winter with months of planning and development. All the time that the guys put in back at the workshop, this is the result. It's all the effort on their part that makes the difference. I just put the pieces together."

Pole Day Qualifying Results