“Weepers” Cancel Kentucky Qualifying Friday

Meijer Indy 300 - Qualifying Report
Circuit: Kentucky Speedway (1.5-mile oval) , KY
2008 Winner: Scott Dixon (Target Chip Ganassi Racing) 183.650 mph average
Weather: Clear, warm, 82 degrees F
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Persistent “weepers” -- water seeping up through the track surface -- forced IndyCar Series officials to cancel qualifying and all other track activities Friday at Kentucky Speedway, setting the grid for Saturday night’s Meijer Indy 300 based on team entrant points.

More than five inches of rain has fallen in northern Kentucky during the past two days, and underground runoff from the storms bubbled up through the track surface in Turn 4 throughout the day, keeping both IndyCars and the Indy Lights support series off the track.

Scott Dixon, winner three races this season, will start from the pole, with his Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate and fellow three-race winner Dario Franchitti starting on the outside of the first row in second. Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves make up the second row; with the Andretti Green Racing duo of Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti starting fifth and sixth, respectively.


Practice sessions for both series have been added for Saturday afternoon. Saturday night’s 200-lap race starts at 8:45 p.m. EDT, with live television coverage on the Versus Network starting at 8 p.m. EDT.

Scott Dixon (#4 Panther Racing Honda) will start from pole: “Definitely, we’ll take a pole any way we can get it, but we certainly would prefer qualifying [on track]. It’s great to have my teammate alongside. We did well here last year [winning the 2008 race] and our car has been strong all season on the mile-and-a-half tracks, so I think we’re in pretty good shape for the race.”

Starting Grid (based on Entrant Points):
Ps. Driver Team Chassis Entrant Points
1. Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi Honda Dallara 380 points
2. Dario Franchitti Target Chip Ganassi Honda Dallara 377
3. Ryan Briscoe Team Penske Honda Dallara 366
4. Helio Castroneves Team Penske Honda Dallara 337
5. Danica Patrick Andretti Green Racing Honda Dallara 285
6. Marco Andretti Andretti Green Racing Honda Dallara 259
7. Dan Wheldon Panther Racing Honda Dallara 255
8. Justin Wilson Dale Coyne Racing Honda Dallara 241
9. Tony Kanaan Andretti Green Racing Honda Dallara 239
10. Graham Rahal Newman Haas Lanigan Honda Dallara 235
11. Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green Racing Honda Dallara 200
12. Robert Doornbos-R Newman Haas Lanigan Honda Dallara 197
13. Raphael Matos-R Luczo Dragon Racing Honda Dallara 194
14. Ed Carpenter Vision Racing Honda Dallara 186
15. Milka Duno Dreyer&Reinbold Racing Honda Dallara 179
16. Mario Moraes KV Racing Technology Honda Dallara 169
17. Ryan Hunter-Reay A.J. Foyt Racing Honda Dallara 165
18. E.J. Viso HVM Racing Honda Dallara 164
19. Mike Conway-R Dreyer&Reinbold Racing Honda Dallara 160
20. Will Power Team Penske Honda Dallara 159
21. Jaques Lazier Curb/Agajanian/Team 3G Honda Dallara 127
22. Sarah Fisher Sarah Fisher Racing Honda Dallara 43
23. Tomas Scheckter Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Honda Dallara 29