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Dixon leads Ganassi sweep on Pole Day

Sat 10th, May 2008

Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - Target Chip Ganassi driver Scott Dixon captured the pole for the 2008 Indianapolis 500 with teammate Dan Wheldon taking second. Dixon's No.9 Dallara Honda circled the 2.5-mile speedway four times at an average speed of 226.366 m.p.h.

The pole victory was Dixon's first at Indianapolis. It was Dixon's third pole win of the season and 11th of his IndyCar career.

"This is unbelievable, what a day," said Dixon. "We had a pretty good plan all morning and as a team, Target, we dominated. "I have to give a lot of thanks to the guys at the work shop."

Only the first 11 positions were locked in on Saturday. The second 11 positions will be determined on Sunday and the final 11 position a week from Pole Day. A week from tomorrow will be Bump Day and this year it might actually have some suspense.

The first driver to set a four-lap qualifying speed for the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500 was Team Penske's Ryan Briscoe. His average speed for the 10-mile run was 224.833 m.p.h.

Dixon then improved on that time with a 225.178 m.p.h. effort. Danica Patrick was the eighth driver out and she topped Dixon by just 0.019 m.p.h.

Patrick's provisional pole lasted about half an hour until Dan Wheldon posted a time of 2 minutes, 39.4052 seconds or 225.840 m.p.h.

"I left a little bit on the table," said Wheldon, the 2005 Indy 500 winner. "The car was on edge, but you know we get paid a lot of money, we need to have it more on edge."

There were a couple of more qualifiers before the track temperature became too hot and slick. So everyone waited for cooler late afternoon weather before getting back in the qualifying line.

Helio Castroneves went out just as ABC came on the air at 3 p.m. (et) and just missed the provisional pole posting a speed of 225.733 m.p.h. Interestingly, the two times Castroneves started on the pole he didn't win (finished second and third) while his two victories came from the 11th and 13th starting positions.

It was another half hour until Briscoe withdrew his morning run time (he was fifth) to take a shot at the pole position. The strategy worked as he grabbed provisional pole with a speed of 226.080 m.p.h. Dixon's crew saw the run and his Target Chip Ganassi team sent the Auckland, New Zealander out of another drive. His speed of 226.366 was the best of the day.

More waiting as teams adjusted their cars and waited for better weather and/or wind conditions.

With about half an hour to go, Ryan Hunter-Reay crashed. He was ok, but the SAFER barrier had to be repaired. It left precious little time for anyone to mount a try at the pole or be one of the top-11 qualifiers.

Wheldon, who was third at the time, wanted one last shot at the pole and got on the track with 20 minutes to go. He didn't get the pole, but he did move up one spot, just behind his teammate.

The last few drivers weren't looking for the pole win, but for the 11th position. Justin Wilson, Will Power and Graham Rahal tried, but didn't make it in and Tomas Scheckter held on to the final spot.

The third member of the front row with Dixon and Wheldon is Briscoe. The second row is made up of Castroneves, Patrick and Tony Kanaan.

On Sunday, 11 more positions in the "500" will be up for grabs.

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