The stage is set for tomorrow’s run for the Indianapolis 500 pole at the Brickyard.
A familiar face topped the charts on “Fast Friday” as defending champion Helio Castroneves paced the session with a lap at 226.558 m.p.h. in the No. 3 Team Penske car. He was followed by teammate and IZOD IndyCar Series points leader Will Power, who put up the second-fastest lap at 226.429 m.p.h. in the No. 12 Verizon-backed entry.
But FAZZT Race Team’s Alex Tagliani also continued his strong efforts in practice, and it would appear that he might be somebody that could push the “Big Two” in the battle for the pole position. The Canadian went P3 on Friday with a lap at 226.153 m.p.h. in the No. 77 Bowers and Wilkins machine.
Tomorrow’s qualifying action will start with a five-hour segment (11 a.m. – 4 p.m.) to determine the first 24 positions on the 33-car grid, followed by a 90-minute shootout for the top spot amongst the nine fastest drivers. Each of the “Fast Nine” will have at least one four-lap qualifying run in the shootout, and the pole winner will walk away with $175,000 and 15 IZOD IndyCar Series championship points. Sunday’s Bump Day action goes from 12-6 p.m. ET and will fill the final nine spots on the grid through normal four-lap qualifying runs and bumping.
Castroneves said that he’s feeling no pressure in his quest to become the fourth driver to win four Indy 500s, which would have him join an elite group that features IndyCar gods Rick Mears, Al Unser Sr., and A.J. Foyt.
“Last year, after the [federal tax evasion] trial, everything was a bonus,” said Castroneves. “We didn’t change anything, and it was a good result. This year, we have the same mentality, and we’ve got to keep pushing. I don’t feel any of the pressure. I just feel that you’ve got to always go to limit, and you can’t play around here.”
As for Power, who holds a 26-point lead in the standings over Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, he’s confident about his chances of sticking his No. 12 car on the pole.
“The Verizon car feels great out on track, whether I’m in the draft or out on my own,” said Power, who has won twice this season. “I think we’re prepared for Pole Day, and I know I’m anxious to get out there and give it a go. Helio got the fast lap again today, so I know all the Team Penske cars are capable of being on top tomorrow. I’m just hoping it’ll be the No. 12 Verizon car.”
But perhaps the one with the biggest smile going into tomorrow is Tagliani, who seems over the moon about how good his car and team have been this week.
“Last night, I was in the garage by myself waiting for an interview and looking at the car, just going around and looking at every detail,” he said. “I had to write my boys a note and tell them, ‘Thank you so much for building this baby,’ because just looking at the car makes me speechless. I know that here, in this particular place, where every tenth of a mile per hour counts and all the little bits and pieces on the car are so important, what we are doing here is because of the way the crew has built the car. So I wanted to show them my appreciation.”
Dixon wound up fourth-fastest on Friday (225.828), followed by KV Racing Technology’s Mario Moraes (225.806) — who may also have a good shot of cracking the “Fast Nine.”
The qualifying order for tomorrow was determined shortly after the end of practice. You can check it out below the dashes.
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IZOD IndyCar Series
2010 Indianapolis 500 — Qualifying order
(Backup cars are denoted by ‘T’)
1. 43T-John Andretti
2. 41-A.J. Foyt IV
3. 15-Paul Tracy
4. 77T-Alex Tagliani
5. 66T-Jay Howard
6. 41T-A.J. Foyt IV
7. 25-Ana Beatriz
8. 12-Will Power
9. 77-Alex Tagliani
10. 3T-Helio Castroneves
11. 14T-Vitor Meira
12. 32T-Mario Moraes
14. 26-Marco Andretti
15. 3-Helio Castroneves
16. 12T-Will Power
17. 9-Scott Dixon
18. 30-Graham Rahal
19. 99-Townsend Bell
20. 25T-Ana Beatriz
21. 21-Davey Hamilton
22. 66-Jay Howard
23. 23T-Tomas Scheckter
24. 8T-E.J. Viso
25. 06T-Hideki Mutoh
26. 23-Tomas Scheckter
27. 24-Mike Conway
28. 37T-Ryan Hunter-Reay
29. 10-Dario Franchitti
30. 78T-Simona De Silvestro
31. 37-Ryan Hunter-Reay
32. 8-E.J. Viso
33. 34-Mario Romancini
34. 2T-Raphael Matos
35. 9T-Scott Dixon
36. 36T-Bertrand Baguette
37. 43-John Andretti
38. 06-Hideki Mutoh
39. 67T-Sarah Fisher
40. 26T-Marco Andretti
41. 7T-Danica Patrick
42. 19-Alex Lloyd
43. 18-Milka Duno
44. 15T-Paul Tracy
45. 10T-Dario Franchitti
46. 20T-Ed Carpenter
47. 19T-Alex Lloyd
48. 33T-Bruno Junqueira
49. 4-Dan Wheldon
50. 14-Vitor Meira
51. 33-Bruno Junqueira
52. 20-Ed Carpenter
53. 22-Justin Wilson
54. 11T-Tony Kanaan
55. 5T-Takuma Sato
56. 7-Danica Patrick
57. 4T-Dan Wheldon
58. 22T-Justin Wilson
59. 2-Raphael Matos
60. 6T-Ryan Briscoe
61. 67-Sarah Fisher
62. 24T-Mike Conway
63. 30T-Graham Rahal
64. 5-Takuma Sato
65. 36-Bertrand Baguette
66. 34T-Mario Romancini
67. 18T-Milka Duno
68. 29-Sebastian Saavedra
69. 32-Mario Moraes
70. 78-Simona de Silvestro
71. 6-Ryan Briscoe
72. 11-Tony Kanaan
73. 21T-Davey Hamilton
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Quotes and materials from league press releases were used in the making of this article.
