IndyCar Series points leader Ryan Briscoe earned his fourth pole position of the season - and the crucial championship point that goes with it - by winning the PEAK Performance Pole Award for the PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway.
Briscoe, who started from the pole in last year’s race at Chicagoland, had a four-lap average of 215.364 mph in the No. 6 Team Penske Dallara/Honda/Firestone to knock his teammate Helio Castroneves out of the top spot. Castroneves’ No. 3 Team Penske car will start second - the third front-row 1-2 start for the teammates this season.
With three races left in the IndyCar season, Briscoe leads Dario Franchitti by five points. Briscoe will start alongside his teammate, Helio Castroneves, with Franchitti directly behind him in the third starting spot.
Tony Kanaan and Graham Rahal rounded out the top five in qualifying. Scott Dixon, who enters Chicagoland third in the points, will start sixth and Danica Patrick will start ninth.
Briscoe credited Castroneves with giving him helpful on-track feedback from his qualifying run.
“Our cars are very close, so it sort of gave me a little bit of a heads-up as to how the track conditions were,” Briscoe said. “And it all helps, because, I mean, you’re talking about the slightest speed differences out there.”
But if it comes down to a race between Briscoe and Castroneves on Saturday, can Briscoe count on his teammate to help his championship chances by staying in line instead of racing him for the win?
“I have to say, is he going to risk it or help me out? I don’t know,” Briscoe said. “You might have to talk to him about it. What did he say?” The Associated Press
Qualifying Friday for the PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300 IndyCar Series event on the 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway, with starting position, car number in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine and speed:
1. (6) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 215.364
2. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 215.202
3. (10) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 214.973
4. (11) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 214.661
5. (02) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 214.556
6. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 214.494
7. (26) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 214.470
8. (5) Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 214.331
9. (06) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Honda, 214.126
10. (7) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 214.104
11. (4) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 213.808
12. (20) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 213.331
13. (27) Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 213.256
14. (43) Tomas Scheckter, Dallara-Honda, 213.218
15. (18) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 213.011
16. (24) Mike Conway, Dallara-Honda, 212.671
17. (2) Raphael Matos, Dallara-Honda, 212.387
18. (14) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 212.337
19. (67) Sarah Fisher, Dallara-Honda, 212.125
20. (13) E.J. Viso, Dallara-Honda, 211.586
21. (23) Milka Duno, Dallara-Honda, 211.465
22. (33) Robert Doornbos, Dallara-Honda, 211.169
23. (98) Jaques Lazier, Dallara-Honda, 208.333
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