Qualifying: Hornish pips Castroneves

Hornish took the pole with a lap of 26.6162 seconds (202.884mph) in his Pennzoil Panther Dallara-Chevrolet on the 1.5-mile oval, despite suffered the after-effects of flu.

"We actually thought we could be a little bit quicker than that," said Hornish. "We didn't know how much the wind was going to change. The wind picked up a little bit from this morning. It's pretty much from the same direction, so we knew what to do there. We've been very happy with our car."

Last year's Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves will start second on his debut as a full-time IRL driver. His best lap was 26.6780s in his Marlboro Team Penske Dallara-Chevrolet.

"I was flat out," said Castroneves. "The weather was tough on everyone today, so considering the wind, I'm happy with how Marlboro Team Penske did today. Tomorrow is the day that counts, so we'll have to be patient and run a good race. I think we're in good shape so far."

Red Bull Cheever Racing monopolized the second row. Rookie Tomas Scheckter will start third in his IRL debut after a lap of 26.7502s, although he was forced to use the back-up car after he crashed in morning practice. Team owner/driver Eddie Cheever Jr will start fourth.

Jaques Lazier starts fifth, ahead of CART champion Gil de Ferran. Former IRL Rookie of the Year Airton Dare will make an unexpected start in the race from 21st position, substituting for Donnie Beechler who was hospitalised after crashing his AJ Foyt Racing Dallara-Chevrolet during morning practice. He is in stable condition.

The start of qualifying was delayed nearly two and a half hours due to an accident that claimed the life of Grand American Rolex sportscar driver Jeff Clinton.

For full qualifying results, click here.