Dixon given pole for Iowa Corn Indy 250 after rain washes out

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Dixon given pole for Iowa Corn Indy 250 after rain washes outqualifying
1 day ago
NEWTON, Iowa — IndyCar Series points leader Scott Dixon didhis best to be polite.
Though Dixon earned the pole for Sunday's Iowa Corn Indy 250because rain washed out qualifying, he tried to explain that he'drather win the top spot on the track rather than by default.
That's when Helio Castroneves chimed in.
"You want to switch?" Castroneves said. "No problem with me."
The fact is, they're both lucky.
Dixon will start out on the pole for the fourth time in fivestarts, thanks to a brief but powerful rainstorm that broke outshortly after qualifying began. The IRL set the field according topoints, so Dixon will be joined on the front row by Castroneves -just as they were at Iowa last year.
Dan Wheldon and Tony Kanaan will start from the second row, withRyan Briscoe and Danica Patrick in the fifth and sixth spots.
The rain came at just the right time for Dixon. The No. 9 ChipGanassi Racing car was having trouble with the rear end duringpractice sessions, and a switch to a new set of tires didn't helpDixon pick up much speed.
"I guess it pays off for working hard in the early part of the yearand setting our points," said Dixon, who finished 10th at Iowa in2007. "It's going to be a great start for us. This track is verymuch about track position. And with the rainout, to be honest,we're starting a lot better than we should have been."
Castroneves will start in the No. 2 spot for the second race in arow as he tries to pick up his first win of the season. Castroneveshas finished in the top five in all seven of his starts in 2008,but he has yet to take checkered flag.
Castroneves, who has finished second three times, said he's moreworried about the points title than breaking his non-winningstreak. Castroneves is just 35 points behind Dixon in the pointsstandings.
"I don't think like that," Castroneves said about the pressure oftrying to break through with a win. "We try everything we can towin races, and when it happens, it happens."
The field was reduced by two during practice runs. Marty Roth andBruno Junqueira crashed into the wall in separate incidents, andboth said it left their cars too damaged to repair in time forSunday.
Roth was done in by a rear pushrod break, which sent him into thewall. Junqueira spun out after his left rear wishbone broke, andhis crash also collected Dan Wheldon. Wheldon will go to his backupcar for the race.
The absence of Roth and Junqueira shouldn't have much of an impacton the race. Roth is 24th in the points standings, Junqueira is21st and neither has a top-10 finish this season.
The rain had cleared out less than an hour after it started, andforecasts are calling for sunny skies and warm temperatures by racetime. That will hopefully help the track avoid a repeat of lastyear's race, when unseasonably cold weather kept tires from gettinggood traction and led to three accidents that involved sevendrivers.
IRL officials have also spent the past 12 months trying to createmore opportunities for passing than in 2007, when the track offeredlittle room to maneuver. Dixon said he believes there will be morespace this time around, but he cautioned that an expanded fieldcould again create traffic jams.
"Hopefully you can stay in the front and stay out of trouble. Forus, that's the key to it," Dixon said.