Twenty-seven qualifying attempts, seven withdrawn cars, six others bumped, three crashes, two runs disallowed and emerging Saturday on pole day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was normalcy when Helio Castroneves was the fastest qualifier yet again.
The Brazilian who beat fed- eral tax evasion charges just 31/2 weeks ago in a Miami courtroom officially marked his return to open-wheel racing prominence by winning the Indianapolis 500 pole for the third time in his career.
Castroneves, who was acquitted April 17, did it in style Saturday, withdrawing Team Penske’s No. 3 car late in the afternoon—amid treacherous east-blowing winds, no less—to knock teammate Ryan Briscoe off the pole.
“That’s what I know to do since I was 11 years old,” Castroneves said of driving a race car. “It’s what I love to do.” Indianapolis Star
Castroneves’s four-lap average of 224.864 mph on the historic 2.5-mile oval came with less than two hours remaining in the six-hour opening round of time trials for the May 24 race.
Castroneves said his third Indy pole in seven years is more special because of the uncertainty he faced from the time he was indicted last October until the end of the trial April 17 in Miami.
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“Many times during the trial I was thinking about it,” he said. “I knew what I loved (is) racing, but I realized even more that’s my life. And just to be here is a dream come true and I appreciate that every day when I wake up in the morning.
“I enjoy life. Now I enjoy it even more. But I have to say that what I learned from the trial, probably my mind is much stronger and my skin is a little bit thicker now.”
“This place is magic,” said Castroneves, a two-time Indy winner. “It’s just amazing. ... We just had to keep working through the weather, working through the day. Ryan and I were really strong. When he went out there at the end, I was thinking I didn’t really want to have to go out (again).” The Associated Press
Franchitti, who returned to IndyCar after a brief stint in NASCAR and took over Dan Wheldon’s seat at Ganassi, made his qualifying attempt during the second hour. His run held up for third on the grid, but windy conditions in the early going hampered his effort.
“It would have been nice to win the pole, but we have won (the Indy 500) from third in the past, so hopefully it’s a good omen,” Franchitti said.
Graham Rahal from Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing secured the fourth starting position, while Scott Dixon, the defending series champion, grabbed the fifth spot. The Ganassi driver started on the pole and won last year’s race at Indianapolis.
Tony Kanaan will start on the outside of row two after posting the sixth-best lap average speed in his second qualifying run during the final hour. Kanaan’s initial attempt was disqualified after Indy Racing League officials found his Andretti Green Racing car to be under the minimum weight during qualifying inspection.
“We got a little bit upset with the withdrawal that we got,” Kanaan said. “I think they did us a favor, and I came back out and the track was better.”
Mario Moraes from KV Racing Technology qualified seventh, while AGR’s Marco Andretti took eighth.
Will Power, in a third entry for Penske, was nine, and Danica Patrick, also with AGR, completed the top-10.
“The car had a little bit of understeer on that run,” Patrick said. “The car felt better on the first qualifying run, but then again that’s natural. When you’re slower, it’s just stuck to the ground.” MiamiHerald.com
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