For the fifth consecutive year – as long as the IndyCar Series has been competing at Watkins Glen International – a Team Penske car will start from the pole. Now Ryan Briscoe will try to capitalize and provide the team its first victory in the Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen.
Briscoe earned his second PEAK Performance Pole Award of the season with a track-record lap of 1 minute, 28.5970 seconds (136.935 mph) July 4 during the 10-minute Firestone Fast Six session on the 3.37-mile, 11-turn circuit.
“I’m excited for Team Penske,” said Briscoe, who also started from the pole at The Glen last year.
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Helio Castroneves, the pole winner in 2005-07, was bumped in the first 20-minute segment by Dan Wheldon’s final lap of 1:29.6398.
“Needless to say, qualifying was a bit frustrating because the Team Penske car is better than where we qualified,” said Castroneves, who will start 14th. “It took us a little longer to get up to speed than we thought it would, and we just didn’t have enough time to get a fast lap in there at the end of the session. I was hoping we’d be able to get one more lap before the end, but we just didn’t have the chance.”
Justin Wilson, competing in the Firestone Fast Six for the third time in as many road/street circuit events this season in the No. 18 Z-Line Designs for Dale Coyne Racing, will start on the front row (1:29.3106).
Scott Dixon, who won the first three IndyCar Series races at The Glen, will share Row 2 with KV Racing Technology’s Mario Moraes, who’s starting in the top 10 for the fifth time (first on a street/road circuit) this season.
Graham Rahal will start fifth, and series points leader Dario Franchitti will join him on the third row. Franchitti’s No. 10 Polaroid car for Target Chip Ganassi Racing spun entering Turn 11 and made rear contact with the tire barrier, creating a full-course yellow midway through the session that limited the laps.
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Qualifying Saturday for the Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen IndyCar Series event on the 3.37-mile Watkins Glen International, with starting position, car number in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, time and speed in parentheses:
1. (6) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 1:28.5970 (136.935)
2. (18) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 1:29.3106 (135.841)
3. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 1:29.7279 (135.209)
4. (5) Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 1:29.8003 (135.100)
5. (10) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, no time (no speed)
6. (24) Mike Conway, Dallara-Honda, 1:29.1715 (136.052)
7. (7) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 1:29.2076 (135.997)
8. (26) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 1:29.3539 (135.775)
9. (11) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 1:29.4131 (135.685)
10. (13) E.J. Viso, Dallara-Honda, 1:29.5661 (135.453)
11. (4) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 1:29.9137 (134.929)
12. (27) Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 1:29.7943 (135.109)
13. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 1:29.8662 (135.001)
14. (15) Paul Tracy, Dallara-Honda, 1:30.6167 (133.883)
15. (02) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, no time (no speed)
16. (14) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 1:30.4001 (134.203)
17. (06) Robert Doornbos, Dallara-Honda, 1:30.6266 (133.868)
18. (2) Raphael Matos, Dallara-Honda, 1:30.4981 (134.058)
19. (23) Milka Duno, Dallara-Honda, 1:33.6824 (129.501)
20. (98) Richard Antinucci, Dallara-Honda, 1:31.1910 (133.039)
21. (20) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 1:31.6852 (132.322)
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