Alex Tagliani (Sam Schmidt Motorsports) who had been one of the quickest driver of the week earned his first ever pole position for the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 nest Sunday.
Everyone expected the likes of the Penske or Ganassi drivers to be on the up and up for the qualifying session but Tagliani proved in the end that he was the guy to beat at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
But Scott Dixon was looking as though he would be hard to beat but the Ganassi ace lost speed on his final lap as the car ran out of fuel exiting Turn 4, leaving the veteran second on the grid.
Oriol Servia (Newman/Haas) was also quick on the track today as he had been all week long as he was able to complete the front row in third.
Sam Schmidt's excellent day continued with Tagliani's team-mate Townsend Bell taking fourth while championship leader Will Power (Penske) completed the top 5.
The remaining grid positions will be set during Sunday's Bump Day qualifying. Leading drivers still trying to get into the race include Penske's Ryan Briscoe, Ganassi's Graham Rahal, Dreyer & Reinbold driver Paul Tracy and all four of Andretti Autosport's full-time entrants.
Pos Driver Team Speed
1. Alex Tagliani Sam Schmidt 227.472mph
2. Scott Dixon Ganassi 227.340mph
3. Oriol Servia Newman/Haas 227.168mph
4. Townsend Bell Sam Schmidt 226.887mph
5. Will Power Penske 226.773mph
6. Dan Wheldon Herta 226.490mph
7. Buddy Rice Panther 225.786mph
8. Ed Carpenter Sarah Fisher 225.121mph
9. Dario Franchitti Ganassi
10. Takuma Sato KV 225.736mph
11. Vitor Meira Foyt 225.590mph
12. JR Hildebrand Panther 225.579mph
13. James Hinchcliffe Newman/Haas 225.572mph
14. Bertrand Baguette Rahal Letterman Lanigan 225.285mph
15. Davey Hamilton Dreyer & Reinbold 225.250mph
16. Helio Castroneves Penske 225.216mph
17. John Andretti Petty/Andretti 224.981mph
18. EJ Viso KV 224.732mph
19. Bruno Junqueira Foyt 224.691mph
20. Justin Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold 224.511mph
21. Jay Howard Rahal/Schmidt 224.483mph
22. Tomas Scheckter KV/SH 224.433mph
23. Tony Kanaan KV 224.417mph
24. Simona de Silvestro HVM 224.392mph
Yet to qualify:
Paul Tracy Dreyer & Reinbold 224.353mph
Charlie Kimball Ganassi 224.262mph
Ana Beatriz Dreyer & Reinbold 224.258mph
Ryan Briscoe Penske 224.134mph
Marco Andretti Andretti 224.074mph
Danica Patrick Andretti 223.831mph
Graham Rahal Ganassi 223.822mph
Alex Lloyd Dale Coyne 223.564mph
Pippa Mann Conquest 223.070mph
Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti 222.951mph
Raphael Matos AFS 222.786mph
Mike Conway Andretti 222.247mph
James Jakes Dale Coyne 221.846mph
Sebastian Saavedra Conquest 221.526mph
Ho-Pin Tung Schmidt/Dragon
Everyone expected the likes of the Penske or Ganassi drivers to be on the up and up for the qualifying session but Tagliani proved in the end that he was the guy to beat at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
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| Alex Tagliani and Sam Schmidt (Photo: Ron McQueeney/IMS) |
But Scott Dixon was looking as though he would be hard to beat but the Ganassi ace lost speed on his final lap as the car ran out of fuel exiting Turn 4, leaving the veteran second on the grid.
Oriol Servia (Newman/Haas) was also quick on the track today as he had been all week long as he was able to complete the front row in third.
Sam Schmidt's excellent day continued with Tagliani's team-mate Townsend Bell taking fourth while championship leader Will Power (Penske) completed the top 5.
The remaining grid positions will be set during Sunday's Bump Day qualifying. Leading drivers still trying to get into the race include Penske's Ryan Briscoe, Ganassi's Graham Rahal, Dreyer & Reinbold driver Paul Tracy and all four of Andretti Autosport's full-time entrants.
Pos Driver Team Speed
1. Alex Tagliani Sam Schmidt 227.472mph
2. Scott Dixon Ganassi 227.340mph
3. Oriol Servia Newman/Haas 227.168mph
4. Townsend Bell Sam Schmidt 226.887mph
5. Will Power Penske 226.773mph
6. Dan Wheldon Herta 226.490mph
7. Buddy Rice Panther 225.786mph
8. Ed Carpenter Sarah Fisher 225.121mph
9. Dario Franchitti Ganassi
10. Takuma Sato KV 225.736mph
11. Vitor Meira Foyt 225.590mph
12. JR Hildebrand Panther 225.579mph
13. James Hinchcliffe Newman/Haas 225.572mph
14. Bertrand Baguette Rahal Letterman Lanigan 225.285mph
15. Davey Hamilton Dreyer & Reinbold 225.250mph
16. Helio Castroneves Penske 225.216mph
17. John Andretti Petty/Andretti 224.981mph
18. EJ Viso KV 224.732mph
19. Bruno Junqueira Foyt 224.691mph
20. Justin Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold 224.511mph
21. Jay Howard Rahal/Schmidt 224.483mph
22. Tomas Scheckter KV/SH 224.433mph
23. Tony Kanaan KV 224.417mph
24. Simona de Silvestro HVM 224.392mph
Yet to qualify:
Paul Tracy Dreyer & Reinbold 224.353mph
Charlie Kimball Ganassi 224.262mph
Ana Beatriz Dreyer & Reinbold 224.258mph
Ryan Briscoe Penske 224.134mph
Marco Andretti Andretti 224.074mph
Danica Patrick Andretti 223.831mph
Graham Rahal Ganassi 223.822mph
Alex Lloyd Dale Coyne 223.564mph
Pippa Mann Conquest 223.070mph
Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti 222.951mph
Raphael Matos AFS 222.786mph
Mike Conway Andretti 222.247mph
James Jakes Dale Coyne 221.846mph
Sebastian Saavedra Conquest 221.526mph
Ho-Pin Tung Schmidt/Dragon