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Franchitti Fastest in Texas Qualifying
Texas Motor Speedway
Ft. Worth, TX
06/05/2009
Last Year's Winner:
Scott Dixon (Target Chip Ganassi Racing) 159.740 mph average
Weather:
Clear, warm, 89 degrees F
Dario Franchitti took the first step in repeating teammate Scott Dixon's 2008 performance Friday at Texas Motor Speedway, qualifying on the pole for Saturday night's Bombardier Learjet 550 IndyCar Series race.
Last year, Dixon drove a Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda Dallara, painted in Energizer Battery colors, to victory from the pole. This year Franchitti is driving in blue and black Energizer colors.
Ryan Briscoe, winner of last weekend's race at The Milwaukee Mile, will start second for Team Penske, with Dixon third on the grid and Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves, fourth. Danica Patrick will start fifth for Andretti Green Racing with second-year IndyCar driver Mario Moraes rounding out the top six for KV Racing Technology.
Saturday's 228-lap race, the first night event of the 2009 IndyCar season, starts at 8:30 p.m. EDT, with live television coverage on The Versus Network, starting with the pre-race show at 8 p.m.
Dario Franchitti (#10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) pole qualifier, his first pole of 2009, first pole at Texas Motor Speedway, and seventh career IndyCar Series pole: "All credit to the Target team for this one. At tracks like Texas, qualifying is all about the car preparation and setup, and my boys were spot-on tonight. As a driver, it's my job not to mess up! But tomorrow is a whole different story, it's all business. The cars slide around a lot more and we really earn our money. You lose so much downforce in pack racing, it gets really exciting!"
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