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Weepers Cancel Kentucky Qualifying
Kentucky Speedway
Sparta, KY
07/31/2009
Last Year's Winner:
Scott Dixon (Target Chip Ganassi Racing) 183.650 mph average
Weather:
Clear, warm, 82 degrees F
Persistent "weepers" -- water seeping up through the track surface -- forced IndyCar Series officials to cancel qualifying and all other track activities Friday at Kentucky Speedway, setting the grid for Saturday night's Meijer Indy 300 based on team entrant points.
More than five inches of rain has fallen in northern Kentucky during the past two days, and underground runoff from the storms bubbled up through the track surface in Turn 4 throughout the day, keeping both IndyCars and the Indy Lights support series off the track.
Scott Dixon, winner three races this season, will start from the pole, with his Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate and fellow three-race winner Dario Franchitti starting on the outside of the first row in second. Team Penske's Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves make up the second row; with the Andretti Green Racing duo of Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti starting fifth and sixth, respectively.
Practice sessions for both series have been added for Saturday afternoon. Saturday night's 200-lap race starts at 8:45 p.m. EDT, with live television coverage on the Versus Network starting at 8 p.m. EDT.
Scott Dixon (#4 Panther Racing Honda) will start from pole: "Definitely, we'll take a pole any way we can get it, but we certainly would prefer qualifying [on track]. It's great to have my teammate alongside. We did well here last year [winning the 2008 race] and our car has been strong all season on the mile-and-a-half tracks, so I think we're in pretty good shape for the race."
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