Dario Franchitti will start the Milwaukee IndyFest 225 from the pole position on Saturday. [John Wiedemann Photo]

Franchitti Repeats As Polesitter At Milwaukee Mile

by John Wiedemann
6/15/2012



West Allis,WI - Dario Franchitti put his Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda on the pole for the Milwaukee IndyFest 225 IZOD IndyCar Series race at the Milwaukee Mile with an average speed of 168.737mph.

    Dario Franchitti celebrates with his pole award in AJ Foyt Victory Lane at Milwaukee Mile. [Russ Lake Photo]
Franchitti's pole run is the second in a row at the Milwaukee Mile and the first he has captured this season. Franchitti also won the race last year at the Milwaukee Mile.

Qualifying results were based on a cumulative time of two laps around the historic one mile oval.

The twenty-second driver to take to the track, Fanchitti's time of 43.31 seconds knocked Justin Wilson, who lapped the track twice in 43.4297 seconds, off of the provisional pole.

Practice sessions did not go well for Franchitti as he was eleventh in round one and eighteenth in the second round.

"I guess you didn't expect to see me here after practice," said Franchitti. "We struggled in practice. We didn't have a car that had balance and was quick. So, we put our heads together and Scott (Dixon) went in one direction and we went in another and it worked. We know what we need the car to do and hopefully that qualifying set up will give us some direction. I didn't expect anything like that and I'm really proud of the team, so for me this is a really special pole. "

"Practice is one thing, qualifying is another and then there is the race," concluded Franchitti.

Dixon, Franchitti's teammate also struggled in practice finishing tenth and ninth in the two rounds. But, Dixon did not have the qualifying turnaround that his teammate found and qualified eleventh.

"Not what we wanted and then you add our ten grid spot penalty to that for the engine change," said Dixon. "We really have to come from the back tomorrow in the Target car."

Wilson, in his Honda, held on to the second qualifying spot followed by the Chevrolets of Ryan Hunter-Reay, Will Power and Rubens Barrichello.

Former F1 driver Barrichello is competing at the Milwaukee Mile for the first time and has been quick off the hauler. Barrichello's fifth place qualifying result is his first top-five start in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

"As soon as we rolled the car out on the track it felt good, and it's a great feeling to be able to go flat," explained Barrichello. "I have been to Milwaukee a few times as a spectator and tested here a couple of weeks ago, but everything felt much better today."

Qualifying Results
Milwaukee IndyFest - IZOD IndyCar Series - Milwaukee Mile
starting position, car number in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, and speed:
1. (10) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 168.737
2. (18) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 168.287
3. (28) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Chevy, 167.911
4. (12) Will Power, Dallara-Chevy, 167.361
5. (8) Rubens Barrichello, Dallara-Chevy, 166.899
6. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Chevy, 166.763
7. (67) Josef Newgarden, Dallara-Honda, 166.699
8. (5) EJ Viso, Dallara-Chevy, 166.066
9. (2) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Chevy, 166.031
10. (11) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Chevy, 165.915
11. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 165.726
12. (77) Simon Pagenaud, Dallara-Honda, 165.369
13. (27) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Chevy, 165.312
14. (15) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 165.285
15. (26) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Chevy, 164.893
16. (4) JR Hildebrand, Dallara-Chevy, 164.321
17. (38) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 164.198
18. (98) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 163.866
19. (6) Katherine Legge, Dallara-Chevy, 163.516
20. (19) James Jakes, Dallara-Honda, 162.020
21. (83) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Honda, 161.079
22. (22) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Chevy, 160.375
23. (20) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Chevy, 160.308
24. (78) Simona de Silvestro, Dallara-Lotus, 160.115
25. (14) Mike Conway, Dallara-Honda, 159.794

Following unapproved engine changes after the Texas Motor Speedway event, Scott Dixon, Will Power. Mike Conway, Takuma Sato, Justin Wilson and Josef Newgarden will be assessed 10 grid position penalties.

The Milwaukee IndyFest 225 mile IndyCar Series is scheduled to start at 1:30pm (ET) on Saturday, June 16th.




John Wiedemann

John Wiedemann is the owner, editor and developer of the RacingNation.com website.

A motorsports fan from his earliest memories, John started going to local short tracks and the Milwaukee Mile with his parents, brother and sister. John enjoys drivers racing side by side and battling for the same piece of real estate on the racetrack as much as he appreciates the technical aspects of the sport.

Starting with his first website RacingWisconsin.com in 2001, John has strived to keep race fans informed with motorsports news, information and stories. Publishing websites has grown to include RacingNation.com, XtraLaps.com and development of websites for racers, teams and companies. John is also involved in radio as a guest and co-hosting the XtraLaps Radio Show and Sparkys Final Inspection.


E-mail John Wiedemann at jwiedemann@racingnation.com


 
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Penske teammates Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves talk after their qualifying runs. [John Wiedemann Photo]



Rubens Barrichello will start in the top five for the first time in an IndyCar Series race. [John Wiedemann Photo]



Dario Franchitti gets ready prior to his polesitting run. [John Wiedemann Photo]



Tony Kanaan ran down pit lane after his qualifying run to give teammate Rubens Barrichello at quick update. [John Wiedemann Photo]



Helio Castroneves prior to qualifying at the Milwaukee Mile. [John Wiedemann Photo]


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