4/20/2007

Castroneves on Pole

Helio Castroneves is on pole for the Indy Japan 300.  Driving a Honda, Castroneves reached speeds in excess of 205 MPH at the Motegi oval.
"The car made a very good lap,'' Castroneves said.  "That's the best I could go for sure.  There was no way I could push it any harder. ''Castroneves will start from the front of the grid for the second straight year.  Last year, he beat Dan Wheldon by 6.3851 seconds for his first win in Japan. 
Wheldon, who won here in 2004 and 2005, was second fastest in Friday's qualifying with a lap of 26.6744 and will join Castroneves on the front row. "I'm a little disappointed,'' Wheldon said.  "I don't think I got everything out of the car today.  It's frustrating because this is a season where I want to be dominant. ''The 200-lap Indy Japan 300 is the only IndyCar Series race staged outside of the United States.
The race is on ESPN Saturday at 3:00pm.

Thanks for the quotes Yahoo!