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Dixon Lightning-Fast In IndyCar Qualifications At Watkins Glen

Scott Dixon all smiles as he receives Verizon P1 pole award. [Joe Jennings Photo]

Scott Dixon all smiles as he receives Verizon P1 pole award. [Joe Jennings Photo]

By Joe Jennings

Watkins Glen, N. Y. – Shattering the track record in Verizon IndyCar Series qualifications at Watkins Glen International, Scott Dixon rocketed around the newly paved 3.4-mile road course at a speed of 147.008 miles per hour, dashing Ryan Briscoe’s 2009 mark of 137.657 mph. The pole winner’s time to cover the 11 turns was 1:22.5259 seconds.

Dixon drove the immaculately prepared Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.

“The Target team just did a fantastic job and we had a good gap on the rest of the field,” Dixon stated. “I was hoping there would be less practice time as everyone starts to close the gap. We had a couple of good tests here and were able to adjust the car. It is also a track I really enjoy, and I like being here.”

Regarding the start, he added, “It is going to be interesting, and tire choice will be interesting, too. The red tires were not what everyone was expecting.”

Championship contender Will Power joins Dixon in the front row with a top speed of 146.922 mph. “My engine died on the last corner of the last lap, which cost us some time,” Power said.

Row two qualifiers were Sebastien Bourdais and Helio Castroneves with Tony Kanaan and rookie Max Chilton rounding out the Firestone Fast Six qualifiers.

Rounding out the top-10 qualifiers were point leader Simon Pagenaud, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jack Hawksworth and Mikhail Aleshin.

Penalties, chiefly for interference, affected Aleshin, Graham Rahal, James Hinchcliffe and Takuma Sato.

Sunday’s 60-lap Hitachi INDYCAR Grand Prix at the Glen will be telecast by NBCSN at 2:30 p.m. ET.

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