Ron McQueeney/IMS
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Scott Dixon didn’t hold anything back as the IndyCar Series began preparations for Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen. The winner of all three previous IndyCar Series events at Watkins Glen International topped the speed chart as 26 drivers participated in 2 ½ hours of practice on the 11-turn, 3.37 mile circuit.
Dixon, who has won at The Glen from second and fourth twice, recorded a best lap of 1 minute, 30.1947 seconds, 134.509 mph in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing machine.
Helio Castroneves, who has won all three PEAK Motor Oil Pole Awards at Watkins Glen, was second fastest with a best lap of 134.368 mph.
Dixon’s teammate Dan Wheldon was third, Panther Racing’s Vitor Meira was fourth and KV Racing Technology’s Will Power was fifth.
Dixon and Castroneves are first and second, respectively, in the IndyCar Series point standings.
SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing, fastest): “I don’t know if I want to sit on the pole; I’ve never sat on the pole (at Watkins Glen). Helio has had some pretty bad luck sitting on the pole out there. But, we’re going to go as fast as we can and see if we can. Years previously we missed it. I guess I’m happy with how we did in qualifying, but I think we focus on that a little bit more this year. Especially on a road course with the competition we have this year, so if you can make a spot up on qualifying it’s definitely going to make your day a lot easier. I’d like to think we have a car that could be on the pole, and I’d like to think we’ve got a pretty set race car.” (About pressure to win for the fourth consecutive year) “I think I’m always one who thinks that pressure is what you put on yourself, to be honest. A lot of people might talk about going for four in a row, an d before they talked about going for three in a row. Three in a row is quite a long shot and four is even more of a long shot. So it’s definitely a race, and the next three we’re going to are races that we’ve done well at in the past. It’s definitely easier to come to tracks like this where you’ve done well before. I think we just take this as a different race; we’re in a different year. It’s all about points now, and we want as many points as possible. If we are lucky enough to come away with four in a row, I’m going to be pretty happy with that.”
