Dixon wins Indy 500 pole

Strategy was almost as important as speed Saturday as Scott Dixon won the pole for the Indianapolis 500 with a big gamble by his Target Chip Ganassi Racing team.
Dixon and teammate Dan Wheldon, who took the second spot, both took advantage of Indy’s unique qualifying format, which allows each entry up to three tries on each of the four days of time trials at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Dixon, who has three pole positions in five tries in the IRL IndyCar Series this season, got the biggest benefit of the team strategy, canceling out a four-lap average of 225.178 mph earlier in the day and making it pay off with four laps at 226.366 that held up for Ganassi’s third Indy 500 pole.
The New Zealander’s pole run came with just over two hours left in the session. The 11-car grid can be found here. The next 11 spots will be determined Sunday. The final 11 spots in 33-car field will be set on May 17, with Bump Day scheduled for May 18.

Penske cars fare well
Scott Dixon’s pole run came only moments after Ryan Briscoe, the first driver to qualify Saturday, made his own gamble in an effort to give team owner Roger Penske a record 15th Indy pole. The team withdrew his earlier speed of 224.833, and Briscoe, who wound up third, put his Team Penske entry on top briefly with a run of 226.080.
Penske’s other driver, Helio Castroneves, a two-time Indy pole winner, had his car pulled out of the qualifying line by his team earlier in the day because of gusty winds. When the two-time Indy winner finally made his only attempt, he also came up short at 225.733, good for fourth.

Danica fast early
Danica Patrick, just three weeks after making history as the first woman to win an IndyCar race, set the early pace, knocking Ryan Briscoe off the top spot with a four-lap run averaging 225.197 mph on the famed 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.
That drew a huge cheer from the crowd of about 40,000 at the sprawling speedway, the biggest spectator turnout for pole day in more than a decade.
But Dan Wheldon spoiled her storybook moment Saturday when he came out about 20 minutes later and pushed Patrick to the middle of the tentative front row.
Patrick, who was doing an interview in the media center during Wheldon’s run, just shook her head and smiled when Wheldon’s speed was announced. She got back onto the track later for practice, but never made another qualifying run and wound up fifth.

Lloyd released
Rookie driver Alex Lloyd, injured in a hard crash during practice Friday, was released from Methodist Hospital on Saturday. With medical clearance by the IRL, he could be back on the track when practice resumes Wednesday. The 23-year-old Englishman completed a lap at more than 223 mph and lost control of his Dallara in the first turn. He was examined at the track’s infield hospital, then taken to Methodist for further tests after complaining of neck pain and a headache. All tests were negative, although he was kept overnight in the hospital for observation.

Hunter-Reay wrecks
Ryan Hunter-Reay, a Rahal-Letterman Racing rookie, crashed during his second qualifying attempt Saturday. He completed one lap at just over 223 mph but spun and hit the wall hard on the first turn of the next lap. He climbed out of the car on his own, apparently unhurt, but his car had heavy damage to the left side.

Champ Car transfers struggle
None of the former Champ Car drivers who made attempts Saturday where fast enough to make the field. Graham Rahal, a winner earlier this season at St. Petersburg, was flirting with the top 11 before his first run of 223.355 mph was bumped out. When the 19-year-old son of 1986 Indy winner Bobby Rahal was ready for one last qualifying run, he found his team hadn’t brought any new tires to pit lane.

-- Compiled from Indycar.com and Associated Press reports