Indy 500 Pole: Right On Target

By: Bert Beiswanger

After some jockeying for position atop the scoring pylon during Pole Day at Indy Saturday, Scott Dixon, driver of the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi car, won the coveted Pole for this year’s Indy 500 and will start the May 25th race on the inside of row one. His teammate, 2005 winner Dan Wheldon, will start in the middle of the front row, while Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe will man the outside of row one.

Two stories played out all day. On one end, you had a group of drivers involving Briscoe, Wheldon and Dixon battling back-and-forth for the pole. On the other end, you had drivers such as Tomas Scheckter and Graham Rahal battling for the 11th position (only the top 11 spots are locked in on the first day of qualifying), the day ending with the latter frustrated and on the outside looking in. Speaking of Rahal, this kid is every bit as charismatic as he is talent - and that’s saying a lot. Having talked with him quite a bit Saturday, I really can’t believe he’s only 19 years old. He’s a class act. One of his car team owners is Paul Newman, who paid a visit to the Speedway on Saturday. Despite the fact Rahal is not in the field at this point, Newman looked like a kid in a candy store. He certainly enjoyed the day. 

 Positions 12-22 were scheduled to be filled on Sunday. However, as has been the case too often already this year, Sunday was a washout. Thus, next Saturday should be pretty interesting and busy as teams work to fill positions 12-33. Bump day will be Sunday, May 18.

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Bert is a freelance writer and passionate and knowledgeable Midwest sports fan. Having lived his entire life in Central Indiana, he ranks the Indy 500, "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing," as the single best sports event in the world.

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