Backstretch Motorsports

Scott Dixon wins his ninth career PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award. His last pole came at Twin Ring Motegi in 2007. It his first career pole at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
This is Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s 16th pole in the IndyCar Series and the team’s second consecutive pole at Homestead-Miami.
Ed Carpenter qualified a career-best second. His previous best was fourth at Michigan International Speedway in 2006.
A.J. Foyt IV qualified a career-best third. His previous best was sixth at Chicagoland Speedway in 2005.
Marty Roth qualified a career-best 10th. His previous best start was 17th at Homestead-Miami in 2007 and Michigan in 2006.
Hideki Mutoh was the top-qualfying rookie at a career-best ninth. He qualified 13th in his IndyCar Series debut last September at Chicago.
Franck Perera was the highest-qualifying driver among those transitioning to the IndyCar Series. He will start 15th.

POST-QUALIFYING QUOTES:

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing, qualified first): “What a crazy qualifying session. Two big crashes, four-lap average it was pretty interesting. I think the biggest thing was when it started cooling off. There were a bunch of guys who we didn’t think we would have to worry about who ended up having some big laps. Kudos to the Vision Team, second and third. That’s a big deal.

We will see about tomorrow. There could be plenty of interesting things tomorrow. The last couple of the years at least on my side we haven’t qualified real well. Dan (Wheldon) has always been fast here.”

ED CARPENTER (No. 20 Menards/Vision Racing, qualified second): “I wasn’t quite sure I could quite go that fast. Then as the run was going on, I was thinking, ‘I can’t remember what Scott (Dixon) ran, but I know I’m probably in front of him.’ Then the last lap, the 212.8 - I thought that may have done it. But either way, this team did such a good job this offseason. Larry Curry did a great job with some of the moves we made and the whole team from top to bottom put a lot of effort in this winter and it shows right here. Now we just have to keep up the hard work and do our job tomorrow night and the rest of the season.”

“It’s a heck of a way to start a season. The new qualifying format really made things interesting and I like it. The guys put in a lot of hard work this offseason and it showed in qualifying and I think it will show on race day. We have new sponsors with Menards and John Mansville and DirecTV and everybody and it’s good to give them a good first night.”

A.J. FOYT IV (No. 2 Vision Racing, qualified third): “If I couldn’t be on the front row, then I’m glad that my teammate was the one to knock me off. I’m very happy with the run. The car has been good all day and it was good at the test. The guys made the right adjustments for qualifying. I can’t wait for tomorrow.” (About prospects for the race): “It could be a good day for Vision Racing. The No. 2 car or the No. 20 car could win the race. It would be nice to get Vision’s first win.”

DANICA PATRICK (No. 7 Motorola, qualified fourth): “Considering the day that we had I think we did a great job qualifying in the Motorola car. We really struggled during practice this afternoon. We could not find the right setup all day, but my crew did a great job getting it right for tonight. As the evening goes on, the better the track conditions got. Nevertheless, I am happy with my starting position.”

RYAN BRISCOE (No. 6 Team Penske, qualified fifth): “It’s really great to be back here in the IndyCar Series. We had a solid qualifying run, and I think we should be in good shape for tomorrow. I’m still getting some track time out here and trying to get back into things, but I think it’s been a great start so far. With the merger, it’s been exciting to come out here and have 25 cars on the grid. So far, it’s been a great first race weekend with Team Penske; they’re such a great group of guys to work with and it’s a fantastic honor to be racing with this team. I’m looking forward to the race tomorrow and I’m definitely ready to go.”

GAINSCO Auto Insurance Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway
Saturday, March 29, 2008

Average
SP Car Driver Hometown Car Name Entrant Time Speed
1 9 Scott Dixon Auckland, New Zealand Target Chip Ganassi Racing Target Chip Ganassi Racing 1:40.2341 213.341
2 20 Ed Carpenter Indianapolis Menards/Vision Racing Vision Racing 1:40.2482 213.311
3 2 A.J. Foyt IV Hockley, Texas Vision Racing Vision Racing 1:40.7676 212.211
4 7 Danica Patrick Roscoe, Ill. Motorola Andretti Green Racing 1:40.8066 212.129
5 6 Ryan Briscoe Sydney, Australia Team Penske Team Penske 1:40.8166 212.108
6 26 Marco Andretti Nazareth, Pa. NYSE Andretti Green Racing 1:40.9452 211.838
7 3 Helio Castroneves Sao Paulo, Brazil Team Penske Team Penske 1:41.0675 211.581
8 11 Tony Kanaan Salvador, Bahia, Brazil Team 7-Eleven Andretti Green Racing 1:41.0683 211.580
9 27 R Hideki Mutoh Tokyo Formula Dream Andretti Green Racing 1:41.1024 211.508
10 25 Marty Roth Toronto Roth Racing Roth Racing 1:41.1264 211.458
11 17 Ryan Hunter-Reay Boca Raton, Fla. Rahal Letterman Racing Team Ethanol Rahal Letterman Racing 1:41.4689 210.744
12 4 Vitor Meira Brasilia, Brazil Delphi National Guard Panther Racing 1:41.6762 210.315
13 15 Buddy Rice Phoenix Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 1:42.0784 209.486
14 14 Darren Manning North Yorkshire, England ABC Supply Co./AJ Foyt Racing A.J. Foyt Enterprises 1:42.1598 209.319
15 34 R Franck Perera Montpellier, France Ares/Opes Prime Conquest Racing 1:42.2034 209.230
16 5 Oriol Servia Pals, Catalonia, Spain KV Racing Technology KV Racing Technology 1:42.3056 209.021
17 02 R Justin Wilson Sheffield, England McDonald’s Racing Team Newman Haas Lanigan Racing 1:42.4349 208.757
18 23 Milka Duno Caracas, Venezuela Citgo/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 1:42.6559 208.308
19 36 R Enrique Bernoldi Curitiva, Brazil Opes Prime/Sangari Conquest Racing 1:42.7433 208.130
20 33 R Ernesto Viso Caracas, Venezuela HVM Racing HVM Racing 1:42.7577 208.101
21 8 R Will Power Toowoomba, Australia Aussie Vineyard-Team Australia KV Racing Technology 1:42.7935 208.029
22 18 Bruno Junqueira Belo Horizonte, Brazil The Z-Line Car Dale Coyne Racing 1:43.0882 207.434
23 19 R Mario Moraes Sao Paulo, Brazil The SONNY Car Dale Coyne Racing 1:43.2707 207.067
24 10 Dan Wheldon Emberton, England Target Chip Ganassi Racing Target Chip Ganassi Racing No Time No Speed
25 24 R Jay Howard Basildon, England Roth Racing Roth Racing No Time No Speed