IndyCar Series championship leader Dario Franchitti dominated qualifying Saturday at Infineon Raceway, posting a time more than four-tenths of a second quicker than his nearest competition in single-car qualifying, and easily holding off all challengers in the 10-minute “Fast Six” shootout as well.

Once again, the multi-car “shootout” that concludes IndyCar qualifying on road courses worked to the advantage of Danica Patrick, as she moved up from sixth to second, matching her previous best roadcourse qualifying effort at Mid-Ohio last month.

Tony Kanaan made it 1-2-3 in qualifying for Andretti Green Racing, with Helio Castroneves fourth for Team Penske after leading all three practice sessions. Franchitti’s main championship rival, Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, will start fifth, with Sam Hornish Jr. rounding out the top six in his Team Penske Honda.

Sunday’s 80-lap Motorola Indy 300, the fourth of five road course events and the 15th of 17 races in 2007, starts at 3:30 p.m. EDT, with live television coverage on ESPN.IndyCar Series championship leader Dario Franchitti dominated qualifying Saturday at Infineon Raceway, posting a time more than four-tenths of a second quicker than his nearest competition in single-car qualifying, and easily holding off all challengers in the 10-minute “Fast Six” shootout as well.

Once again, the multi-car “shootout” that concludes IndyCar qualifying on road courses worked to the advantage of Danica Patrick, as she moved up from sixth to second, matching her previous best roadcourse qualifying effort at Mid-Ohio last month.

Tony Kanaan made it 1-2-3 in qualifying for Andretti Green Racing, with Helio Castroneves fourth for Team Penske after leading all three practice sessions. Franchitti’s main championship rival, Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, will start fifth, with Sam Hornish Jr. rounding out the top six in his Team Penske Honda.

Sunday’s 80-lap Motorola Indy 300, the fourth of five road course events and the 15th of 17 races in 2007, starts at 3:30 p.m. EDT, with live television coverage on ESPN.

Dario Franchitti (#27 Andretti Green Racing Honda) pole qualifier, second pole in the last three races, fifth career IndyCar Series pole:
“The track conditions have changed quite a lot here as the weekend has progressed, getting warmer and windier. But rather than change the car, which was already quite good, I adapted myself and that strategy worked out very well! My [pole] lap was a good lap, but didn’t feel all that ‘special’. I knew I could repeat it if I needed to in the shootout, but no one else got into the ‘16s’. Going into the race tomorrow, I’m going to do the same job I’ve always done, as this is one of the toughest tracks we race on. But we’re certainly starting in the right place! It’s also comforting to have two of my teammates [Danica Patrick and Tony Kanaan] between me and [championship rival Scott] Dixon.”