Castroneves captures pole for IndyCar night race at Iowa
NEWTON, Iowa -- Helio Castroneves continues to prove why he is one of the greatest IndyCar Series qualifiers. The Team Penske driver won the 44th pole of his career Saturday for Saturday night’s Iowa Corn 300 at Iowa Speedway.
Castroneves qualified with a two-lap average of 183.480 mph around the 0.894-mile, high-banked, short oval.
It was Castroneves' third pole this season and his second at Iowa. His previous pole at the track came in 2009.
The three-time Indianapolis 500 winner starts alongside fellow Brazilian and friend Tony Kanaan of Chip Ganassi Racing, who ran a two-lap average of 183.125 mph. Castroneves is fourth in points, 69 behind leader and teammate Juan Pablo Montoya, who starts on the inside of Row 2 with a two-lap average of 182.707 mph.
Montoya has a 54-point lead over Scott Dixon, who will start to his outside.
“No worries, I’ve got my eyes on them,” Castroneves said of the championship contenders, who are starting near each other in Saturday night’s short track race under the lights. “To be honest, we need to score a win here. We are pushing for that. At this point, you just have to go for it. I’ve got a very good car, and I’m ready for that.”
Castroneves benefited from the exchange of information between his other three Team Penske teammates and himself, as he was the last driver to make a qualification attempt.
“It shows that we work together,” Castroneves said. “It’s a matter of which way you want to go -- go win or go big. The Chevy was strong last week at Milwaukee, and it has shown to be very strong here as well. I can’t wait to start now.
“This year is interesting because normally on the qualifying line you can’t change the wings, but now you can,” Castroneves said. “So the guy who goes last can change the car. We are able to qualify and show how fast our car is. Last week we started last and got up to second place. At least today we are starting on the right position.”
Castroneves started last in the ABC Supply Wisconsin 250 at the Milwaukee Mile after he missed qualifying, but he was able to race his way from to a second-place finish.
He starts up front Saturday night and is hopeful of scoring his first victory of the season by the end of the night.
Simon Pagenaud starts fifth and Will Power sixth to round out the quartet of drivers at Team Penske. Marco Andretti was the top Honda driver in qualifications in eighth place -- one position behind Chevrolet driver Josef Newgarden.
Graham Rahal, who is third in the standings, starts 17th in the 24-car field.
Here's the complete starting lineup for Saturday night's Iowa Corn 300:
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