Canadian Alex Tagliani grabbed pole position for the first race in IndyCar’s Texas double-header.
Tagliani, who started from pole at the Indianapolis 500 last month, averaged 215.186 miles per hour over his four-lap qualifying run on Friday.
That puts him at the head of the field for the first of two 275-kilometer races on the high-banked oval at Fort Worth.
The unique format, last used by IndyCars in 1981, will see the starting positions for the second 275-kilometer race decided by a blind draw 15 minutes after the first race’s checkered flag. AFP
Last month, Tagliani became the first Canadian to win the pole for the Indy 500. He finished 28th after crashing three-quarters of the way into the race.
Two-time defending series champion Dario Franchitti qualified second at 214.801.
Will Power, the current points leader, took the third spot, followed by Takuma Sato and Ed Carpenter. Power led the way in the first practice session, which was held earlier in the day. He holds a 16-point advantage over Franchitti.
Tony Kanaan, Scott Dixon, Wade Cunningham, who will make his first start in the series, Ryan Briscoe, the defending race winner, and Danica Patrick qualified sixth through 10th, respectively. MiamiHerald.com
Tagliani receive one bonus point for the pole (the bonus at Indianapolis was 15)—his fifth top-five start on an oval.
“I think this is a tribute to the guys and how much love they have put into the car, and that’s what team is all about,” he said. ““A lot of people don’t realize that 2010 was a lot of effort to build the infrastructure of a team and get from one race to another there were a lot of things we needed to sort out – a high percentage of our work actually because of the time constraints.
“From the end of the year and through the winter, and to this race I’ve seen a lot more time spent on building a car to win, building a car to go fast. Now it’s just starting to show how good this team is and how good we made it over the winter.” IndyCar.com
Australian Ryan Briscoe, the Team Penske driver who won the single race at Texas last year, has talked to four-time Indianapolis 500 winner and team consultant Rick Mears about the format.
When dual races were last held, in Atlanta in 1981, Mears won both.
“He absolutely loved doing the twin races,” Briscoe said. “His big thing, if you had a good car in the first race, well, you’re going to have a good car in the second race as well.
“If you start the first race and your handling is not right and someone else is a bit better, well at halftime, you can come in and make some changes.” Fox Sports
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