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Franchitti Claims First Pole of Season

Written by Douglas Brown · October 15, 2005

FONTANA, Calif., Saturday, Oct. 15, 2005 - Dario Franchitti claimed his first Marlboro Pole Award of the season - and second of his IndyCar Series career - as he claimed the pole position for the Toyota Indy 400 at California Speedway.


Franchitti recorded a quick lap of 219.398 mph on the 2-mile D-shaped oval in the No. 27 ArcaEx Dallara/Honda/Firestone. He set an IndyCar Series record with his 16th top-10 start of the season and became the eighth different pole winner this season.

The pole is the 13th for Andretti Green Racing in the 17 events.

Tomas Scheckter will make his fifth front-row start of the season in the No. 4 Pennzoil Panther Racing Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone after a lap of 218.902 mph. Sam Hornish Jr. (218.602) and Bombardier Rookie of the Year winner Danica Patrick (218.199) will occupy Row 2. Dan Wheldon, who wrapped up the IndyCar Series championship at Watkins Glen International on Sept. 25, will start seventh.

DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 27 ArcaEx Dallara/Honda/Firestone, winner Marlboro Pole Award): “We’re happy with the car and that run. It just takes the slightest thing to affect your car at a place like this. A lot of it is luck, honestly. But we knew we had a good car all day. We still need to do a little homework tonight, but we like our car. This track is more of a mental challenge than physical, and 400 miles can be challenging.” (About winning the pole): “Qualifying at these type of tracks is really geared towards the engineers and the engine guys. Our engineer absolutely hit the balance and the level of grip, and the engine was incredibly strong. I

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Comments

3 Responses to “Franchitti Claims First Pole of Season”

  1. George on October 16th, 2005 12:08 pm

    Good news for the IRL! Honda has announced they will stay with the series through the 2009 season. What that means to all of the teams and on track competition will remain to be seen, but at the least the engine issue is no longer in question.

  2. DJ on October 16th, 2005 2:34 pm

    It is good news for the IRL, but doesn’t Honda have enough money to pull out of the contract whenever they want? Honda needs to market themselves in America and the IRL isn’t cutting it. I’m not saying NASCAR is the answer either.

  3. peterg on October 16th, 2005 10:25 pm

    Well I stand corrected, I was assuming the engine situation was the start of the demise of the IRL.This provides Tony George with a serious lifeline.

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