Penske drivers 1-2 in early qualifying at Indy

INDIANAPOLIS — Ryan Briscoe was the early leader Saturday in pole qualifying for the Indianapolis 500.

The fastest driver in practice this week showed the way on a cool, windy afternoon with a four-lap average of 224.131 mph.

Penske Racing teammate Helio Castroneves, a two-time pole-winner here, was close behind at 223.959 mph, while 20-year-old Graham Rahal clocked 223.266 mph to land on the outside of the tentative front row for the May 24 race.

Pole Day qualifying began at noon and was scheduled to run until 6 p.m., with 11 of the 33 starting positions for the 500 up for grabs. Eleven drivers completed qualifying runs in the first hour, but Justin Wilson’s 220.934 mph run was disqualified because of an unapproved weight location.

With wind gusts up to 25 mph making the 2.5-mile oval more treacherous than normal, few of the early qualifiers were happy with their speeds.

But the unique qualifying format at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway allows each of the entries up to three completed attempts on each of the four days of time trials leading up to the 500.

Even Briscoe, who was pleased with his run, was thinking he might have to do it again later.

“That’s good, that’s solid. It’s a good start,” the Australian driver said. “I think, having gone reasonably early, it gives us a chance to get through tech early and get the car back and look at the setup and everything and see what we can do to go faster if we need to.”

Danica Patrick, who expected to have a shot at a spot on the front row, was confused and disappointed after a four-lap run at 221.785 that left her seventh among the early qualifiers.

“I’ve never been this far off at Indy, never,” she said. “It really just was slow. … We’re going to have to think about it and be ready to go back out.”

Many of the 32 drivers who have been on the track since practice began on Wednesday, including Scott Dixon, last year’s pole and race winner, opted to wait until later in the day, hoping the wind dies down.

Will Power, the third Penske driver, was fourth at 223.028, followed by Marco Andretti at 222.789, Mario Moraes at 222.470, Patrick, Hideki Mutoh at 221.680, Raphael Matos at 221.527 and Ed Carpenter at 221.272.

“That’s fine for the first run,” said Power, who would love to give Roger Penske his first sweep of the front row since 1988 when Rick Mears, Danny Sullivan and Al Unser started up front. “I hope we get another shot at it.

“If we have a shot at the front row, (the team) may decide to send me out again. It’s up to them.”

Andretti, the grandson of Indy legend and 1969 race winner Mario Andretti and son of longtime racing star Michael Andretti, said, “If the wind keeps up, we might have to settle. I just hope it’s good enough for the top 11.”

Among the drivers who had not made qualifying attempts were former Indy winners Dixon, Dario Franchitti, Tony Kanaan and Dan Wheldon, all among the fastest drivers in practice.