Dixon on pole as qualifying called off
Championship leader Scott Dixon has been confirmed as the pole position holder for the Kentucky IndyCar race after weepers, the product of more than five inches of rain the previous day, cost the series its qualifying session on Friday evening
Series and track officials continued to attempt to stop water from seeping through the track surface, and still plan to hold a practice session late on Friday if the weepers subside.
Cars will be lined up for the start of Saturday night's race by entrant points, meaning Scott Dixon will start on the inside of the front row, with his Chip Ganassi Racing team-mate Dario Franchitti alongside and Penske duo Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves behind them.
"I'll take it anyway I can get it," Dixon said. "It's a fantastic result for the team, but not exactly the way we wanted to get it. It was a tough day not being able to get on the track."
The wasted hours under bright sunshine were particularly frustrating because of the implementation of push-to-pass technology for Saturday's race and the newly ground surface at Kentucky's 1.5-mile oval.
"It's not their fault that they had torrential rain here," Franchitti said. "They can only do so much to fix it. Hopefully we'll see the water go away when the sun comes down."
The loss of qualifying sees Edmonton winner Will Power back in 20th on the grid as his #12 car has only entered a handful of races. Other quirks include Milka Duno taking 15th in the line-up as she is in the #23 Dreyer & Reinbold entry that Tomas Scheckter has run strongly in, while Scheckter himself starts last in the #43 car.
With three Dreyer & Reinbold and three Penske entries, plus the return of owner/driver Sarah Fisher, a 23-car field has been maintained for Kentucky despite the absence of Paul Tracy and Alex Tagliani after the end of the series' Canadian swing. The other change in the entry is the return of Jaques Lazier to the 3G car occupied by Richard Antinucci for the past three road courses.
Pos Driver Team 1. Scott Dixon Ganassi 2. Dario Franchitti Ganassi 3. Ryan Briscoe Penske 4. Helio Castroneves Penske 5. Danica Patrick Andretti Green 6. Marco Andretti Andretti Green 7. Dan Wheldon Panther 8. Justin Wilson Dale Coyne 9. Tony Kanaan Andretti Green 10. Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan 11. Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green 12. Robert Doornbos Newman/Haas/Lanigan 13. Raphael Matos Luczo Dragon 14. Ed Carpenter Vision 15. Milka Duno Dreyer & Reinbold 16. Mario Moraes KV 17. Ryan Hunter-Reay Foyt 18. EJ Viso HVM 19. Mike Conway Dreyer & Reinbold 20. Will Power Penske 21. Jaques Lazier 3G 22. Sarah Fisher Sarah Fisher 23. Tomas Scheckter Dreyer & Reinbold
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