Briscoe wins IndyCar pole at Watkins Glen
WATKINS GLEN -- From the back of the field to the front, from red tires to black, the action during Saturday's qualifying for the Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen bodes very well for Sunday's race.
Ryan Briscoe won his second pole of the season and his second straight pole at Watkins Glen International with a record-setting lap on a day in which several big names didn't make it out of the first round of qualifying.
Briscoe drove his No. 6 Team Penske car to a lap of 1 minute, 28.5970 seconds (an average of 136.935 mph) in the final round of qualifying at the 3.4-mile road course. The Austrailian's lap topped the mark of 1:29.1919 (136.021 mph) set by Helio Castroneves in 2007.
"I haven't had this much fun around a road course in a long time," said the 27-year-old Briscoe. "I was worried about Justin [Wilson, who will start second]. Hopefully we can break the Penske jinx here and get a win. The 'Reds' were a lot of fun here."
The final round of qualifying, in which a group of six cars compete in a Fast Six session, was limited to just a few laps due to a hard crash in Turn 11 by Dario Franchitti. The top six drivers all turned faster laps in the earlier rounds of qualifying.
Wilson, a 30-year-old native of England, will start second in his Dale Coyne Racing No. 18 after recording a lap of 1:29.3106 (135.841).
Wilson may be in ideal position to catch Briscoe in Sunday's race since he will enter the race with a set of "red" tires he did not use during qualifying. The "reds," as they are referred to by drivers, are alternate tires with bright red sidewalls which offer better grip -- and faster times -- but don't match the durability of the standard tires.
Teams receive three sets of the special edition of the Firestone tires and are mandated to use at least one set during the race. Wilson will be the only driver to have two sets available.
Behind the front row of Briscoe and Wilson will be Scott Dixon, Mario Moraes and Franchitti. Franchitti walked away from a hard crash after he slamming the rear end of his No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car into the outside guardrail in Turn 11.
"I just tried too hard," said Franchitti. "I was feeling good grip from the tires and I whaled on it that last corner there, and as soon as I turned I lost the back and I knew I was in trouble. It was a pretty good hit. Disappointed, obviously. We felt like we had a very good car but we can still win it from there [fifth]."
Graham Rahal was part of the Fast Six and had qualified fifth; however, he failed postrace inspection and was penalized 10 starting spots.
While Franchitti is the IndyCar series points leader, Dixon is second and Briscoe is third, the other half of the Fast Six were from further down in the pack: Rahal is ninth, Wilson 15th and Moraes 16th.
"It just shows how competitive this series is," said Dixon, "and what great drivers are coming through the ranks."
"I think the better drivers kind of show through [on road courses]," said Rahal. "You certainly can't make a car do any better than it's naturally going to on an oval, whereas on the road course, the driver definitely has more to do with it. ... The dollars spent don't need to be as high on the road courses. If you're a good driver, you have a chance."
Several notable names will be starting back in the pack after failing to advance out of the first round of qualifying: Helio Castroneves, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Paul Tracy.
There are three rounds of IndyCar qualifying. In round one, the top six in two separate groups advance to one 12-car group in the second round. The fastest six of those dozen move on to the final round to battle for the pole.
Castroneves, who is fourth in the points, will start 13th after being edged for the final spot by E.J. Viso. Ryan Hunter-Reay was the champion here last year but will start 14th. Tracy, the Canadian standout making his first appearance at the Glen, will start 16th.
Rookie Mike Conway, 17th in the points standings (second to last among drivers who have competed in every race), will start sixth. He had just missed out on the final six cars in qualifying after being bested by Rahal by .0099 seconds in the second round.
Danica Patrick, who is fifth in the points race, recorded her best qualifying spot this year on a road or street course (seventh).
"If the car could have been able to stay more consistent, we definitely could have started higher on the grid," said Patrick. "There are so many good drivers this year. The field is super-competitive, so to be eighth is still good."
Briscoe was fastest in practice and in three sessions of qualifying, but when asked if he would be able to check out on the field, he seemed to recognize that there are a lot of fast cars up front and a lot of big names scattered through the field.
"It's hard to breakaway -- there are long straights here and a lot of stiff competition," said Briscoe. "Justin is sitting there with a couple of sets of new 'reds' as well, so he's going to be tough. It's a long race. Anything can happen, and we'll probably get a couple of caution that pack the field up again. ... I think it'll be a tough one. We'll try and get a good start and go from there."
Check out more details of Saturday at the Glen at the Sports, Ink. blog and see more details and stories in Sunday's News.
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