Briscoe wins Watkins Glen pole

2009-07-05 04:23:02 -

WATKINS GLEN, New York (AP) - A week after spinning out and losing the IndyCar Series points lead, Ryan Briscoe won his second straight pole at Watkins Glen International on Saturday.
Briscoe's lap of 1 minute, 28.5970 seconds around the 11-curve, 5.5-kilometer (3.4-mile) road course was enough for the Australian's second pole of the season and sixth overall.
«I haven't had this much fun around a road course in a long time,» said Briscoe, who eclipsed the former track record of 1:29.1919 set in 2007 by Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves. «These red tires were just unbelievable. They have a lot of grip.
This season Firestone introduced so-called «option tires» for all road/street course races. The tires, marked with a red line around the outer edge, have a softer compound for better grip but are less durable than the standard tire.
Like in Formula One, each team will be required to use the «red» tires for a stint in Sunday's 60-lap Camping World Grand Prix, but they also could use them in qualifying.
A hard crash in the pole shootout by series points leader Dario Franchitti on his first lap caused a full-course caution, meaning the six-driver field only had enough time to run one fast lap.
Justin Wilson of Dale Coyne Racing finished second to Briscoe for the second straight year and was left to wonder what might have been with a set of unused red tires still sitting in the pits.
«That's just how it goes,» the Briton said. «I was hopeful because we had a new set of red options left and everyone else had used them in the first session. Unfortunately, I never got the opportunity.
Briscoe was fastest in each of the three qualifying sessions, and in the second round seven drivers surpassed the track record.
Wilson was followed by three-time Watkins Glen winner Scott Dixon, Mario Moraes, and Graham Rahal. Franchitti was sixth, just ahead of rookie Mike Conway and Danica Patrick.
«I didn't have time to use the second set of reds,» Moraes said. «The first set was already hot. Briscoe was really quick. I don't know if we could get him. We didn't know how the reds were going to hold the pace.
«We had one set of reds that seemed to be slower than the other,» Rahal said. «It already had 15 laps on it, but it didn't have quite the pace.
Rahal's No. 2, owned by Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, failed post-qualifying tech inspection and was dropped 10 spots on the starting grid.
Left on the outside looking were defending race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay, who will start 16th, and Castroneves, a three-time pole winner at The Glen since the series began racing here in 2005. He failed to make it out of the first round and will start 14th in the 21-car field.
«It's just a shame. This car is better than 14th,» Castroneves said. «We started really well, and when we put the reds on we got a little overconfident. I took a little longer to bring the tires up. We ended up not getting what the car had to offer.
Racing at Watkins Glen for the first time in his long career, 40-year-old Canadian Paul Tracy qualified right behind Castroneves.
«I needed two or three more laps,» Tracy said. «We'll have to use a different strategy for the race.