Team Penske's Helio Castroneves has claimed his third Indianapolis 500 pole today during the first round of qualifications on the Indianapolis Speedway finishing on top of the first group of eleven cars to qualify.
The Brazilian, who won the race in 2001 and 2002 edged his teammate Ryan Briscoe, who had held the pole most of the afternoon, with Dario Franchitti (Ganassi) completing the front row. With barely ten minutes remaining in the session, Briscoe took the gamble to withdraw his initial speed so he could try and beat Castroneves to first position but, in the end, he was slower but still managed to hold on to second. A surprising Alex Lloyd (Sam Schmidt/Ganassi) was able to place his car among the top eleven with the last spot. Marco Andretti and Danica Patrick qualified the other two AGR cars today, taking eighth and tenth. Paul Tracy (KV Racing) briefly edged into the top 11 in the final hour but was unable to stay in the top spot and had to settle for the 14th spot. Dan Wheldon (Panther) and Nelson Phillipe (HVM) were the only drivers to crash today and they both did it in Turn 2. Many drivers, including Alex Tagliani, chose not to make qualifying attempts today, preferring to focus on tomorrow's session. Pos Driver Team Speed 1. Helio Castroneves Penske 224.864mph 2. Ryan Briscoe Penske 224.083mph 3. Dario Franchitti Ganassi 224.010mph 4. Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan 223.954mph 5. Scott Dixon Ganassi 223.867mph 6. Tony Kanaan Andretti Green 223.612mph 7. Mario Moraes KV 223.331mph 8. Marco Andretti Andretti Green 223.114mph 9. Will Power Penske 223.028mph 10. Danica Patrick Andretti Green 222.882mph 11. Alex Lloyd Schmidt/Ganassi 222.622mph
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