INDIANAPOLIS (May 23, 2010) – Dario Franchitti placed his No. 10 Target Honda Dallara on the outside of Row 1 with a speed of 226.990 MPH during Indianapolis 500 qualifications. Scott Dixon will start from the outside of Row 2 in sixth in the No. 9 Target Honda Dallara.
Target Chip Ganassi Racing Logo
Franchitti was third quick in the first round of qualifying – locking himself into the top-nine pole shootout with a speed of 226.161 MPH. When the “fast-nine” took to the track for the final round of qualifying, Franchitti made three qualifying attempts. Franchitti has started from the outside of Row 1 three times at the Indianapolis 500 (2004, 2007, 2009) including when he won the race in 2007.
Dixon guaranteed himself a spot in the “fast-nine” by qualifying fifth in the first round of qualifications with a speed of 225.797 MPH. He made three attempts in the final qualifying round with a high-speed of 226.233 MPH.
NOTES
- - Franchitti’s qualifying effort marks the third consecutive Indianapolis 500 that he has started from the third position. He has started third four times.
- - This is the ninth time Target Chip Ganassi Racing has started on the front row in the Indianapolis 500.
- - Dixon extends his record of the most consecutive IZOD IndyCar Series top-10 starts to 38. This is Dixon’s sixth top-10 start at the Indianapolis 500.
Franchitti claimed 12 championship points for his qualifying effort and Dixon earned nine points.
Team Target will hit the track again before the 500-mile race on Carb Day for a one hour practice session from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM on Friday, May 28.
TCGR Quoteboard:
Dario Franchitti: “It’s my fourth time starting third here, and my third in a row and if you had told me that yesterday, I wouldn’t have believed you. It was a great job by Team Target because we weren’t quick yesterday. All week we’ve been OK with good balanced cars, but not fast cars. We made big improvements and big strides, and we were in there fighting for it. We’ve got good race cars and I gave it everything I had today. I’m pretty happy.”
Scott Dixon: “Tough day. But fantastic for the fans. As much people I’ve seen here on qualifying day and I think that’s what counts. Hopefully all the cars running on the track at the end is what brought everybody out, the promotional stuff. For me, it was fun to be a part of.”
About Target Chip Ganassi Racing
Target Chip Ganassi Racing is the two-time reigning IZOD IndyCar Series Champion, scoring 10 wins in 17 races in 2009. Chip Ganassi created his own one-car IndyCar team in 1990 and established a partnership with sponsor, Target. Today, Target Chip Ganassi Racing includes two entries in the IZOD IndyCar Series for 2008/2003 Champion and 2008 Indianapolis 500 Winner Scott Dixon, and 2009/2007 Champion and 2007 Indianapolis 500 Winner Dario Franchitti. Target Chip Ganassi Racing has collected seven Championships and 75 wins since 1994 and operates out of a state-of-the-art race shop facility in Indianapolis, with a corporate office in Pittsburgh.
- Target Chip Ganassi Racing, Press Release