Hornish leaves everyone behind at Indy
Sam Hornish Jr. wasted no time showing he was the guy to beat Saturday in pole qualifying for the Indianapolis 500.
After posting a 229.996 mph in the morning warmup ? by far the fastest lap since practice for the May 28 race began nearly two weeks ago ? Hornish came back less than two hours later and proved it was no fluke with two more laps over 229 on the way to a four-lap qualifying average of 228.985.
?This car is about as perfect as I?ve ever had,? Hornish said. ?I was really about 99 percent happy with it.?
Hornish, who has failed to finish the big race in each of his six previous starts, said he told his Marlboro Team Penske crew on Thursday night he would qualify at 229.
?I made myself look bad to them because I didn?t quite get there,? he said, grinning.
With just more than three hours remaining in the qualifying session postponed last weekend by rain, Hornish was fastest by a considerable margin.
?Winning the pole here would be the second best thing to winning the race here,? he said. ?It?s a long race next Sunday and I want to make it through that. I want to make sure I make the full 500 miles.
?You know, it?s not the guy who?s the fastest here that wins this race; it?s the one who makes the fewest mistakes.?
With all the top teams well prepared after an extra week of practice, car after car took to the 2.5-mile oval without a break from the moment qualifying began at noon. By the time Dario Franchitti became the first driver to abort a qualifying run, 2 hours and 20 minutes later, all but four spots in the 33-car starting field had been filled.
Each car is allowed up to three qualifying attempts, and Franchitti was the biggest name who had yet to earn a spot in the tentative lineup.
Defending Indy champion Dan Wheldon, the only driver able to beat Hornish for a day?s fast lap this month, couldn?t come close to Hornish?s Saturday effort.
Wheldon posted a solid run with four consistent laps over 227, but his average of 227.338 was far short of what he?d hoped for, placing him tentatively on the outside of the front row of three.
Two-time Indy winner Helio Castroneves was the only driver able to even approach teammate Hornish?s performance. The Brazilian started with a lap of 227.741 before ticking off three straight trips around the 2.5-mile oval above 228 for an average of 228.008.
That run placed him in the middle of the front row, but it was still nearly a full mile an hour slower than Hornish.
?I think that?s as fast as we can be and Sam?s been consistently strong for the whole month of May,? Castroneves said, shrugging. ?We?re very happy.?
Under the rules, Castroneves, Wheldon or any other driver could withdraw their qualifying speed and take another shot at the pole before the 6 p.m. close of first-day qualifying.
But Castroneves, who made a second try last year and fell further back in the lineup, wasn?t expecting that to happen.
?We can?t be too greedy here because this place can give you a big surprise that you don?t want to have,? he said.
Scott Dixon, Wheldon?s Target Chip Ganassi teammate, was fourth fastest at 226.921, followed by Tony Kanaan, last year?s pole-winner, at 226.776 and 2005 race runner-up Vitor Meira at 226.156.