Catchfence

Dan Wheldon will make his ninth career start at the Indianapolis 500 from the outside of Row Two after qualifying this afternoon which culminated in an exciting Fast Nine shootout. The result is the sixth top-six qualifying effort at the Speedway for the 2005 Indianapolis 500 winner, who has finished second the past two years.

Wheldon, who entered the Fast Nine fourth on the provisional grid with a four-lap average of 226.300 mph, was able to slightly better his speed and improve to a 226.410 mph average in the BHA/Curb-Agajanian entry.

Fast Nine Qualifying Results:

1. Alex Tagliani 227.472 mph

2. Scott Dixon 227.340 mph

3. Oriol Servia 227.168 mph

4. Townsend Bell 226.887 mph

5. Will Power 226.773 mph

6. Dan Wheldon 226.490 mph

7. Buddy Rice 225.786 mph

8. Ed Carpenter 225.121 mph

9. Dario Franchitti No Speed*

*Didn’t complete qualifying attempt

Dan Wheldon, #98 William Rast/aigo/Curb/Big Machine Forsythe Solutions Dallara/Honda/Firestone:

“This result is a testament to the team. Bryan Herta Autosport has done a phenomenal job for me all month. The group that they put together in terms of personnel and sponsors like William Rast has, for me, been a pleasure to be a part of. We are excited that we qualified well. Perhaps we tried to go for it a bit too much [in the Fast Nine] and cost ourselves a place or two, but I think in the race we will be incredibly strong.

“We are obviously collaborating with Sam Schmidt Motorsport and for them to achieve a pole against people like Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi is a heck of a performance and they should be very, very proud.”

At-A-Glance: The 2005 Indianapolis 500 winner and IZOD IndyCar champion… will be vying for his ninth career start in the Indianapolis 500… record at the Speedway includes five top-four finishes in his last seven races and back-to-back runner-up results the past two years… IZOD IndyCar Series career record includes 15 victories, 42 podium finishes and 61 top-five results in a total of 131 career starts with two runner-up finishes in the championship in addition to his 2005 title… earned Rookie of the Year titles in the IZOD IndyCar Series, Firestone Indy Lights, Toyota Atlantic and USF2000 in addition to the 1999 USF2000 championship… 32 years old from Emberton, England… currently resides in St. Petersburg, Fla., with wife Susie and sons Sebastian and Oliver.

Bryan Herta, Team Co-Owner:

“This was an excellent result for everybody on the William Rast/BHA/Curb-Agajanian car. I couldn’t be happier with the second row. Dan did a tremendous job. We have a great car, a great driver and a great team and we are looking forward to showing up next week and trying to win this thing.”

About Bryan Herta Autosport

Founded by veteran driver Bryan Herta and noted race engineer and team manager Steve Newey, Bryan Herta Autosport (BHA) has been a race-winning team in Firestone Indy Lights competition since 2009. The Indianapolis, Ind.-based squad made its debut in the IZOD IndyCar Series in 2010 contesting the Indianapolis 500. Herta, an accomplished racer, has won in every series he has contested including the IZOD IndyCar Series, American Le Mans Series and CART in addition to garnering Skip Barber Formula Ford, Barber Saab and Firestone Indy Lights championship titles. Amongst his career highlights are a third-place finish in the 2005 Indianapolis 500 and victory in the LMP2 class at the Twelve Hours of Sebring in 2007. Newey’s racing career spans over 20 years and includes design and race engineering positions in Formula One as well as team manager/technical director roles in IndyCar, American Le Mans and Grand-Am competition. Among his highlights are the 1992 Champ Car World Series title as the race engineer for Bobby Rahal, the 2006 Grand-Am Daytona Prototype Driver’s Championship with Krohn Racing’s Jorg Bergmeister and victory in the Twelve Hours of Sebring in 2007 as race engineer for Andretti Green Racing and drivers Bryan Herta, Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan. He was also instrumental in assembling the Patrick Racing Firestone test team and served as team manager for drivers Scott Pruett and Adrian Fernandez. For more information, visit www.bryanhertaautosport.com.

About William Rast

William Rast, the ‘New America’ denim culture brand, was conceptualized and founded by Justin Timberlake in 2005 under management of CEO Colin Dyne. Originally comprised of only denim, the brand has expanded into a complete lifestyle collection, including leathers, outerwear, wovens, knits, footwear and eyewear; known for delivering quality, fashion forward design and premium fit. Grounded in the iconography of American denim heritage and biker culture, yet re-packaged and presented in a contemporary context, William Rast has found its place on the floors of top-tier department stores and boutiques across the globe, and has become a staple for denim fans worldwide. The company operates William Rast retail stores at Century City in Los Angeles, Aventura in Miami, Valley Fair in San Jose and Desert Hills Premium Outlets in Palm Springs; as well as its webshop at www.williamrast.com.

– Bryan Herta Autosport, Press Release