Qualifying: Dixon heads title rivals
Scott Dixon continued his dominance of the short ovals on the IRL IndyCar Series schedule by winning the pole position for Sunday's Firestone Indy 225 at Nazareth Speedway. His lap of 19.6633s around the one-mile circuit just edged Penske star Helio Castroneves. Tony Kanaan and Dixon's team-mate, Tomas Scheckter, will fill the second row for the race
The Ganassi Racing driver has been the dominant force on the smaller tracks that the IRL visits. He won the season opener at Homestead-Miami, and then won successive short-track events at Pikes Peak and Richmond. His pole for Sunday's race was his fifth in 13 events this season.
"I definitely do like the smaller tracks," said Dixon. "We don't get to go to a lot of them through the season. They're a lot more fun, and this one stands out. It's got elevation changes and three very different corners. Through the season we really don't get to see things like this. I just really enjoy these places."
Dixon also enjoys a good points race. Currently he's third in the IRL standings, 12 points behind the leader, Tony Kanaan. Castroneves is second, eight points behind Kanaan, while Gil de Ferran is fourth, 13 points off Kanaan's pace.
De Ferran will start sixth, while Sam Hornish Jr., back in the championship hunt after last week's runaway win at Kentucky Speedway, will start seventh. Hornish is 77 points behind Kanaan with four races remaining.
In spite of the close conditions - both on the track and in the standings - Dixon says he and his Ganassi Racing crew aren't altering their approach.
"I think you can start changing too many things and start focusing on the championship," Dixon said. "You can probably find yourself in more trouble than you would if you just got on the job. We're going to do what we've been doing all year, and that's try to win races."
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