Ron McQueeney/IMS
RICHMOND, Va. – Tony Kanaan won the PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award presented by Advance Auto Parts for SunTrust Indy Challenge at Richmond International Raceway.
The Andretti Green Racing driver recorded a four-lap qualifying effort of 1 minute, 4.3333 seconds, 167.876 mph in the No. 11 Team 7-Eleven machine. The pole is Kanaan’s second of the season and the 10th of his IndyCar Series career.
Kanaan’s teammate, Marco Andretti, will share the front row to start the 300-lap race on the. 75-mile oval. Andretti’s qualifying average was 167.795 mph.
Rookie Graham Rahal and series points leader Scott Dixon will start on Row 2, while past Indianapolis 500 winners Buddy Rice (2004) and Dan Wheldon (2005) while start on Row 3.
Rice turned in his best qualifying effort since the 2005 season finale. On the flip side, Helio Castroneves, who is second in points, qualified 18th, his lowest starting position since the middle of the 2004 season.
Tony Kanaan (No. 11 Team 7-Eleven, qualified first): “If there was a place that I could choose to start on the pole, it’s this one. I think we did a great job. I have to thank my teammates, Danica, Marco and Hideki. Danica and Hideki came and tested here a few weeks ago, and I think it helped us a lot. Me and Marco worked really well together this morning trying to find a good setup, and it was really good. I’ve been in the front quite a lot, but I haven’t been able to accomplish things in the front. So we start all over again. The car was totally different than it was in the afternoon. But I think that with our experience, we knew what was going to happen. It helped that my teammates all qualified in front of me. It helped that I was one of the latest cars to qualify. The track is cooling off and getting better all the time. It’s a good lead for what I need in the race as well. Hopefully the luck is on my side this weekend.&r dquo;
