DIXON WINS VERIZON P1 AWARD FOR IOWA CORN INDY 300 NEWTON, Iowa - Scott Dixon set the Iowa Speedway two-lap qualifying track record en route to the Verizon P1 Award to lead a front-row sweep for Target Chip Ganassi Racing during qualifications for Saturday nights Iowa Corn Indy 300 presented by DEKALB. Dixons two-lap average of 186.256 mph shattered the previous speed record of 180.375 mph held by Takuma Sato since 2011. Tony Kanaan, the 2010 race winner on the 0.894-mile, variably-banked oval while with Andretti Autosport, recorded a two-lap average speed of 185.891 mph in the No. 10 TNT Energy Drink entry to tie his season-high qualifying result of second. Dixon, driving the No. 9 entry, is the ninth different driver to claim the Verizon P1 Award during the first 12 races of the Verizon IndyCar Series season. Todays effort marked his 21st career Indy car pole, tying Gil de Ferran for 13th on the all-time Indy car list. Its definitely a good thing to see the Ganassi cars at the top, said Dixon, the reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion, whose previous best qualifying result on an oval this season was seventh at Texas Motor Speedway. We had been stuck in sort of a rut and it had been a while since my last pole (Baltimore in August 2013). Were winless so we have a bit of work to do. It definitely will be a tough one; the competition is extremely good. Eight different drivers representing six teams have won this season, though none have been from Chip Ganassi Racing. Andretti Autosport has won five of the seven races at Iowa Speedway, including the past four. Dixon started on the pole at Iowa in 2007 and 2008, but has yet to win on the oval. His next victory will tie Al Unser Jr. for sixth all-time on the Indy car win list with 34. No driver has won from the pole in the seven races at Iowa Speedway. Helio Castroneves, who enters tomorrows 300-lap race tied with Team Penske teammate Will Power atop the championship standings, set the one-lap track record (186.809 mph) on his second qualifying lap in the No. 3 for a two-lap average of 185.685 mph and will join Ryan Briscoe (185.339 mph) on Row 2. Power, battling bronchitis this weekend, qualified ninth in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car. Carlos Munoz qualified fifth and Sebastien Bourdais will join the series rookie in Row 3. The fourth Chip Ganassi Racing car, driven by Charlie Kimball, will occupy Row 4 in the seventh starting position with 2011 Iowa race winner Marco Andretti, who starts eighth. Results 1. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Chevy, 186.256 2. (10) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Chevy, 185.891 3. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Chevy, 185.685 4. (8) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Chevy, 185.339 5. (34) Carlos Munoz, Dallara-Honda, 185.027 6. (11) Sebastien Bourdais, Dallara-Chevy, 184.968 7. (83) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Chevy, 184.743 8. (25) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 184.726 9. (12) Will Power, Dallara-Chevy, 184.683 10. (20) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Chevy, 184.589 11. (77) Simon Pagenaud, Dallara-Honda, 184.380 12. (7) Mikhail Aleshin, Dallara-Honda, 184.316 13. (28) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 183.747 14. (27) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Honda, 183.348 15. (15) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 183.201 16. (14) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 183.089 17. (17) Sebastian Saavedra, Dallara-Chevy, 183.083 18. (19) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 182.455 19. (2) Juan Pablo Montoya, Dallara-Chevy, 182.317 20. (98) Jack Hawksworth, Dallara-Honda, 181.243 21. (67) Josef Newgarden, Dallara-Honda, 180.987 22. (18) Carlos Huertas, Dallara-Honda, 177.849 QUOTES Pole - SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Chevrolet) Its a great feeling, which is unfortunate for a team like this. Were still winless, but I dont want to be a downer because were starting on the pole and starting on the right end of the field. We had a bit of a tough test here a few weeks ago, but coming back the car setup has been a dream to drive. With new people on the team, new engineers and new teammates weve changed some of the short track setups and its been eye-opening and fun to drive. Weve rolled off the truck and been really quick. With me qualifying 14th and TK and Ryan (Briscoe) going before me we knew the car had some understeer and were able to put some front wing in (before the qualifying run). Its great to see all the Ganassi cars in the top seven and a great team effort. Im excited for the race - Iowa is a fun track and weve had some great cars in the past and some great finishes, so hopefully we can put on a fantastic show for the fans here tomorrow - thats No. 1 on the priority list and obviously to try and win it for us. 2nd - TONY KANAAN (No. 10 TNT Energy Drink Chevrolet) The result will be tomorrow, but obviously had a great qualifying effort from the team. Four cars in the top seven, thats pretty good. The two Target cars in the front row-- that makes Chip happy, makes Target happy. Im pleased with the car. The way the qualifying works, which is by luck, you just got to draw your number. Drawing an early number hurt us just a little bit. But front row, its all right. 3rd - HELIO CASTRONEVES I was fine in Turn 4, but I was having (an) issue with Turn 1. I have to give thanks to the Hitachi boys. They did a great job again. The car was really loose on the first lap, much like my teammates, but I really went for it on lap two. I just trusted the car and it paid off. If you are starting up front it is not that bad.” 4th - RYAN BRISCOE (No. 8 NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet) That was a really good run for the No. 8 NTT DATA Chevrolet. We really struggled today in practice to find the balance, but the guys worked really hard to make sure I had a good car for qualifying. Track position is going to be really important around here tomorrow night, so we will definitely take a fourth and see what we can do with it tomorrow night. 5th - CARLOS MUNOZ (No. 34 Cinsay AndrettiTV HVM Honda) Today the teammates help was totally different than the help I had at Pocono because I was almost the last to qualify, and we were almost back-to-back to qualify today in Iowa. For sure its always helpful (to have teammates) because you have an idea of what the track will be like. It was an OK qualifying; I think everyone gets better as the session goes on. The most important is the race tomorrow - it is 300 laps, a long race... well see what happens. 6th - SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS (No. 11 Mistic KVSH Racing Chevrolet) I feel pretty good. Very happy. We didnt test here and it is only my second time here at Iowa Speedway. We struggled in practice, made some changes this afternoon and it kind of all worked out in the end. Jimmy (Vasser) was confident that the car was going to be good, so I said OK, your call. I am very happy for the whole KVSH Racing crew and our sponsor Mistic. 7th - CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 83 Levemir FlexTouch Chevrolet) The No. 83 Levemir FlexTouch Chevrolet had a great run today in qualifying. We were able to take some data from our teammates, who were already up front, and use that to our advantage for our run. I think the test here a couple of weeks ago really helped us all come to this track with more data and experience. I cant wait to get out here under the lights tomorrow night and see what Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing can do. 8th - MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 25 Snapple Honda) We were dealing with an early draw and a green track after the rain, so not exactly desired conditions for our run. We were definitely loose in Turns 3 and 4 and gave up some track distance on the exit of Turn 4. Im a little disappointed, but as a team weve always had strong race set ups so well work tomorrow to move the Snapple car to the front. 9th- WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet) I had a big moment, which ruined that (first) lap, and was worried if the car was going to stick. I made some adjustments on the second lap and it was not as bad. Top 10 would be really good. 10th - ED CARPENTER (No. 20 Fuzzys Vodka/Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet) Its not a bad run for (Iowa Speedway), but the car did get a little loose on the second lap or we would have had better starting spot. You always want a better speed when you arent on the pole. But it has been a tricky day with the weather conditions. Waiting out the rain and the drying of the track is always tough. I think we have a good car for the race. Well have to see how the conditions go after the rubber from the truck race and possible rain. We were fast last year here and I feel like our race setup will be good. The 50 extra laps could prove to be a factor towards the finish. The track could really change throughout the race and you have to be able to adjust to that element. 11th - SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 77 Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Racing Honda) In our two-lap qualifying sessions you dont really get to feel much in the car, but the car is decent. This race has a lot of passing, and I really think its fun for our cars. You can use two lanes, which is great for overtaking. We have a longer race distance than last year, so there will be even more time to make up ground on the leaders. Well have to have a clean race to ensure were on the lead lap and able to fight at the end. 12th - MIKHAIL ALESHIN (No. 7 SMP Racing Honda) I like this track. Its very unusual to me, being such a small oval. Our car is strong and I like our pace, but I think where were lacking right now is my experience level. Im learning so much each time I get in the car on these new tracks, and today we lost quite a bit of practice time to rain. Schmidt Peterson Motorsports gives me a great car each weekend though, which enables me to pick things up quickly and compete near the front of the field. 13th - RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 DHL Honda) Today I was kind of on top of the track - moving all around, loose here, understeer there, so didnt really know what to do with it. Luckily with Iowa being a short track, qualifying is less important - itll be a crazy race tomorrow night, thats for sure. 14th - JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 27 United Fiber & Data Honda) We just missed it (in qualifying) today and its a shame because the United Fiber & Data car was pretty quick in practice. The good news is our race trim is strong so there is an opportunity to move up, but Im just gutted for the guys because we do have a good car. I think traffic management is what wins this race. Its a very short track trait - youre always going to be racing someone whether its for positions or with guys a lap down or maybe guys a lap ahead of you, but youre always going to be in dirty air. Having a car that versatile out front, high line, low line is definitely going to be key. 15th - GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 15 National Guard Honda) The National Guard car was very good in practice. At the end of the session I think we found a lot of good things that helped us. And I thought that the car was absolutely planted in qualifying; it was absolutely perfect. We just didnt trim enough so we were too slow. We got the car where it needs to be but we didnt get aggressive enough in qualifying so it put us in the back. I think the car will be all right in the race. Its always tough starting at the back at Iowa though. 16th- TAKUMA SATO (No. 14 ABC Supply A.J. Foyt Racing Honda) It was a difficult qualifying. We couldnt get good grip so the car was sliding. It was pushy and loose at both ends (of the track). It was a tough one. 17th - SEBASTIAN SAAVEDRA (No. 17 Automatic Fire Sprinklers KV AFS Chevrolet) We went in to qualifying blind as we werent able to do a qualifying simulation during the final practice session. That, of course, influenced the small lift I had during my run, which really killed the speed at a track where you need to be running flat the whole time. The Automatic Fire Sprinklers, Inc. - KV AFS Racing car feels great in race mode, very fun to drive and we made a lot of passes during the practice session. Its just unfortunate that were not starting a little further up. We will move forward to tomorrow and with the combination of a good strategy from the team and great pit stops, Im confident we will have a good result. 18th - JUSTIN WILSON (No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda) That performance was kind of what I expected. I had a bit of a difficult practice session because of the weather. We didnt get as far along as we wanted to. That being said, the car feels reasonable. I just got a little bit loose there in both ends of the track in qualifying. They key now is to get it so you can change lines and race well. We will try to hit it tomorrow, it is going to be a long, tough race. It isnt easy around here anyway and at 300 laps, it is going to be tough. 19th - JUAN PABLO MONTOYA (No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet) We made some changes to the No. 2 Verizon Chevy from practice because we thought we could be just a little better. Unfortunately it didnt work out that way. I wasnt sure the car was going to come back when it stepped out on me. We have a lot of laps to make something happen so Im not worried. 20th - JACK HAWKSWORTH 21st - JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 67 Hartman Oil/Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda) It turned into a tough day for us. I thought we had a really good day going. We were looking strong on race trim. In all honesty Im really happy with where the car is right now I think we have a really good race car to work with tomorrow night. We just got caught out in qualifying. We made some decisions and stuck to them and we ended up struggling with the rear end. 22nd - CARLOS HUERTAS (No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda) It was a difficult day because I have never tested here and I didnt feel very comfortable with the circuit. We really didnt get our set up finished and when it is an oval the car set up is very important and it makes a big difference. I really hope I can finish tomorrow and have good race like I have had already this season.
Posted on: Sat, 12 Jul 2014 03:21:25 +0000
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