Wheldon on pole again

The 19th of 22 drivers to qualify, the Englishman knocked erstwhile pole-sitter Greg Ray off the spot and led a dominant performance by Honda at its home track - the Twin Ring Motegi.

Wheldon didn't look capable of a run at the pole during Thursday's practice sessions, when he didn't go any faster than 198mph.

"I sucked yesterday," Wheldon said. "I've got to give a lot of credit to my engineer [Eddie Jones], to the team and to Honda. They've worked extremely hard for this race. They've enabled me to be in this position."

Honda swept the first five starting positions at the track it constructed in 1997 not far from its research and development facility, 50 miles north-east of Tokyo. Ray, Honda's only owner/driver, held the pole for much of Friday's session in his Access Motorsports Panoz G Force until Wheldon went 0.005s faster around the 1.5-mile oval.

"We are still the smallest team on the grid," said Ray, who posted his best start since 2001. "We only have one car, and you can only take so many risks. I left a little bit on the table."

Wheldon's Andretti Green Racing Dallara posted its second consecutive pole and Honda's third in three IRL IndyCar Series races this season. He credited team-mate Tony Kanaan, who just missed topping Ray's lap, with advice that helped him win the pole.

"The advice that Tony offered me today secured the pole, without question," Wheldon said. "The stuff Tony says makes an impact. He was very, very helpful."

Kanaan will start inside the second row ahead of Kosuke Matsuura, who had the fourth-fastest lap. Buddy Rice completed the Honda sweep for Team Rahal in fifth. Scott Dixon, who sustained a hairline fracture in his ankle Thursday during practice, broke up the Honda party by putting his Toyota in sixth position.

"The wind was still a factor in three and four," said Dixon, one of four drivers to crash in turn four Thursday. "I think the car was good enough to start in the second row, but I was overly cautious. I didn't want to risk making a mess of my backup car after making a mess of my primary car."

Tora Takagi, who was airlifted to a nearby hospital after crashing Thursday, was cleared to qualify. However, he returned to the pits before taking the green flag, then returned minutes later for one lap at 195.054 mph. He'll start last in Saturday's race.