IndyCar Series championship points leader Dario Franchitti posted a lap of 218.308 miles per hour
Saturday at Michigan International Speedway to claim the pole for Sunday’s Firestone Indy 400. It is the
seventh consecutive race Franchitti has qualified in the top five and the second time this season the Scott
has started from the pole.
Team Penske’s Sam Hornish Jr. and Helio Castroneves qualified second and third, respectively, while
Rahal Letterman Racing’s Scott Sharp will start fourth, continuing his string of strong oval-track qualifying
efforts.
The third row of the grid is made up of former series champion Dan Wheldon, fifth, and Vision Racing’s
Tomas Scheckter in sixth. Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, second in the points standings and
coming off a record-tying three consecutive race victories, qualified seventh. Eighteen of the 20-car
starting field qualified within seven-tenths of a second of the pole.
Sunday’s 400-mile race, the second-longest of 2007, starts at noon EDT, with live television coverage on
ESPN2.
Dario Franchitti (#27 Andretti Green Racing Honda) pole qualifier, his fourth career IndyCar pole:
“We’ve had a pretty good car right from the first practice this morning. We focused on the race setup in
the first practice, then gained even more speed with some additional changes. I wasn’t totally sure about
our qualifying setup, as we never got in a full simulated qualifying run, but obviously it was a good one!
This isn’t a tough track to pass on if your car is quick. The very top lane is a bit sketchy, but you can still
run two-three wide here. It should be a good race tomorrow.” |
August 4, 2007
