May 12, 2007 5 min read

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Speeds crept upward on Fast Friday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with Scott Dixon setting the pace with the first lap of the month over 227 mph. That raised a few eyebrows around the speedway on the last full day of practice before the start of qualifying for the May 27 race. But Indy Racing League president Brian Barnhart expects the speeds to rise even more for Saturday’s pole qualifying.

“They’re doing a good job of not showing me how fast they’re going to run, yet, because I know they’re going to run a lot faster,” Barnhart said.

“We’ve had temperatures in the mid-80s this week, making the track hot and slick. Tomorrow, the forecast is for partly cloudy and like 74 (degrees). I wouldn’t be surprised to see somebody run a (2)30 or (2)31.”

But speed is a staple around this nearly 100-year-old racetrack. The big news heading into the first of two weekends of time trials is that Barnhart is likely to finally see how the qualifying procedure put into effect two years ago really works.

For each of the past two years, the opening day of qualifying has been washed away by rain.

“Now I’m more nervous because it does look like we’re going to do it and, to try to anticipate all the hypothetical situations and be prepared, I think we’ve done as good a job as we can,” Barnhart said. “I really do think it has potential to be really exciting and provide a lot of drama.”

The new procedure is unlike any other qualifying format in racing.

On Saturday, the first 11 spots in the 33-car field will be filled, with each entry allowed up to three four-lap, 10-mile qualifying runs on the historic 2.5-mile oval. Once those positions are filled, faster cars can bump out the slowest qualifiers until the gun sounds to end the first day at 6 p.m.

The same procedure will fill positions 12 through 22 on Sunday and 23 through 33 next Saturday. Any remaining entries can then have a shot at bumping out the slowest cars in the field a week from Sunday, the final day of qualifying.

The key, as it has been here for many years, no matter what the procedure, is that the 33 fastest cars will start the 500-mile race.

“It will an incredible qualifying,” said two-time Indy winner Helio Castroneves. “The competition is so tight. I’m talking about 2 miles an hour difference between No. 11 and the pole speed.

“You think it’s a lot, but it is not because it’s a four-lap average. It’s going to be a strategy game. The weather is going to be a factor. Definitely, no one should miss it.”

Tim Cindric, president of Penske Racing, which fields cars for Castroneves and 2006 Indy winner and IndyCar Series champion Sam Hornish Jr., said a different strategy will definitely come into play on Saturday.

“I think it depends on what your expectations are,” said Cindric, whose team has won a record 13 poles and 14 races at the famed Brickyard. “There’s three things tomorrow: the pole, the front row and the top 11. Anywhere between fourth and 11th, to me, won’t make much difference.

“First, obviously, is a big deal, and the front row, obviously, there’s a lot of prestige that comes with that. But whether you’re fourth or 11th going into that first turn on race day, I think it’s just a matter of where you start. Risk and reward, that’s the game.”

The favorites to fight it out for the pole are Chip Ganassi Racing drivers Dixon and Dan Wheldon.

Wheldon, the 2005 Indy winner and series champion, was fastest through the first couple of days of practice this week, then watched as Dixon, the 2003 series champ, outran him on Thursday and went even faster on Friday, a lap of 227.161 mph that is the fastest since practice began.

“Dan’s still pretty quick, and I don’t think we’ve seen nearly anything from Penske yet,” Dixon said. “But Chip is as competitive as both Dan and myself, and we do really want the pole and I think we’re going to fight for it as hard as we can.”

Asked about the new qualifying procedure, Dixon said it could promote some interesting scenarios.

“I think we’ll gamble for it if we’re not sitting on pole position,” he said. “We’ll be trying our hardest and using all three attempts to do it.”

Wheldon, who was third on the speed chart Friday at 226.650 – his best of the week – doesn’t want to get too excited about speed.

“Fast Friday is a chance for you to try what you’re going to have come qualifying,” Wheldon said. “But it’s not an end-all, be-all. You don’t get any points. Pole Day is important but, again, the big picture is the race.”

Right behind the Ganassi drivers Friday were two of the five members of the Andretti Green Racing team, with Tony Kanaan at 226.236 and Marco Andretti at 226.230, followed by 2006 pole-winner Hornish at 225.587 and Danica Patrick, another AGR driver, at 225.295.

Castroneves may have been saving his speed for Saturday. He was ninth Friday at 224.726.