Rain Gives Patrick Kentucky Pole
Danica Patrick has taken her second IRL pole position with the fastest practice lap - after qualifying for the Indy 300 at the Kentucky Speedway was cancelled due to rain
Patrick - the second woman in the IRL history to start a race from pole position - has taken her maiden pole position last month.
"[Qualifying is] the true earned way for sure, but that doesn't make practice any less difficult," said Patrick of her achievement. "You're definitely putting yourself out to see what your car will do in qualifying, and that's what I was doing.
"My engineer, Ray (Leto), and I - he came up with a good plan, and I just went 'OK.' He planned it right.
"A pole is a pole. I really think we had a good shot at it."
Patrick will share the front row with points leader Dan Wheldon, who posted the second-fastest lap in both practice sessions.
Patrick recorded her fastest lap, of 217.516mph, in the second session while Wheldon's lap of 217.500 was set in the first session. "This could be a race where she could score the breakout win," Wheldon said of Patrick's chances tomorrow.
Tomas Scheckter and Sam Hornish Jr. take the second row of the grid, in third and fourth respectively, and Wheldon admitted he was wary of championship rival Hornish's ability to make it to the front.
"With the Championship in mind, you like to start up front," Wheldon said. "I've seen Sam Hornish come from the back here. The key is to have a car that will handle for the race. If you can run fast, you can get to the front real quick."
Scott Dixon and reigning IRL champion Tony Kanaan will start on the third row of the grid.
The Indy 500 at Kentucky - Starting Grid: Pos Driver Best Speed 1. Danica Patrick 217.516 2. Dan Wheldon 217.500 3. Tomas Scheckter 217.376 4. Sam Hornish Jr. 217.307 5. Scott Dixon 217.268 6. Tony Kanaan 217.089 7. Vitor Meira 217.036 8. Scott Sharp 216.993 9. Buddy Lazier 216.922 10. Dario Franchitti 216.835 11. Buddy Rice 216.329 12. Bryan Herta 216.124 13. A.J. Foyt IV 215.510 14. Ryan Briscoe 215.487 15. Kosuke Matsuura 215.461 16. Helio Castroneves 215.443 17. Roger Yasukawa 215.373 18. Jaques Lazier 215.057 19. Alex Barron 214.990 20. Patrick Carpentier 214.893 21. Jimmy Kite 214.820 22. Ed Carpenter 213.425 23. Tomas Enge -
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