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Dixon Tops Speed Charts During Carb Day At Indy

Indianapolis, Ind. – Scott Dixon turned the fastest laps during Friday’s final practice prior to Sunday’s 100th anniversary edition of the Indianapolis 500. The New Zealand ace cranked off a lap at 225.474 miles per hour, topping that of fast-qualifier Alex Tagliani, who registered a lap at 224.739 mph.

Carrying the traditional name of Carb Day, the 60-minute practice session was done under overcast skies and cool conditions, which is in total contrast to the sunny skies and high temperatures forecast for Sunday’s spectacle.

“Today was just a check to make sure the car was functioning okay because it had been in a million pieces not long ago,” Dixon said. “We also got to try a few pit stops. With it being very cold and not close to what is going to happen on Sunday, we still got to try a lot of things. The car was pretty decent in traffic, plus there was a lot of action out there. For us, both cars (including Dario Franchitti) were good.”

Dixon noted that cars run much differently in the cold compared to warm weather, but his team has gathered enough data to be able to make changes as the weather dictates.

Tagliani was sporting a big smile as he has been doing since claiming the pole position six days ago. “It has been an amazing week for our team and crew,” the smiling driver said. “We have been fortunate that the car has been so fast. We were strong everyday this month, and it is a pleasure for me to drive such a competitive car. Today, the car was very different but very racey.

“I got to run in traffic, and the car was good. It seems unreal to me and too good to be true at times. It is not that we don’t deserve to be up there with the big teams, and we just hope that it will continue. Running with three frontrunners during the practice and in the turbulence, the car was very good. We had a program to make three changes, and they all worked out.”

Dario Franchitti, the 2011 winner, was third fastest at 224.658 mph with Vitor Meira
fourth fastest at 224.480 mph.

2005 winner Dan Wheldon timed fifth at 224.439 mph and 2004 winner Buddy Rice was
sixth in line at 224.409 mph.

Ryan Hunter-Reay, transitioning to an A. J. Foyt entry, surprised many with the seventh-
fastest time at 223.930 mph. The Californian took 49 laps of practice.

Tony Kanaan, previous winner Helio Castroneves and John Andretti rounded out the top-10 of the fastest cars.

All 33 starters practiced with Will Power leading in laps completed with 62 and Takuma Sato managing only four laps.

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