RAHAL, DOORNBOS SWEEP FRONT ROW FOR NEWMAN/HAAS/LANIGAN RACING AT KANSAS SPEEDWAY KANSAS CITY, Kan.
(Saturday, April 25, 2009) &ndash Graham Rahal won his second career pole position and his first on an oval, edging teammate Robert Doornbos by three-tenths of a second as Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing swept the front row for the Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway. Earlier this month, Rahal became the youngest pole winner in major open-wheel racing history at the season-opening race at St. Petersburg, Fla. Two races later, the 20-year-old is on the pole for the first time on an oval. He qualified second at Milwaukee last year. Doornbos, a rookie who will be making his first start on an oval, qualified second, marking the 40th time in IndyCar Series history that teammates will start 1-2. Rahal recorded a four-lap qualifying average of 211.311 mph, while Doornbos was at 210.665 mph. Danica Patrick qualified third on the 1.5-mile oval, and will start on the second row next to reigning series champion Scott Dixon. Dan Wheldon, the winner of the last two races at Kansas Speedway, will start ninth in his attempt to become the third driver to win three consecutive races at a track. Series points leader Dario Franchitti will start 20th, and Helio Castroneves will start 21st. Both drivers were penalized for driving under the white line during their qualifying attempts. Castroneves was penalized for the same reason in the 2008 season finale at Chicagoland and went on to win the race after starting 28th.
Also on Saturday, 2005 Firestone Indy Lights champion Wade Cunningham won his first pole in two years, winning the pole for the Kansas Lottery 100. Cunningham recorded a two-lap qualifying average of 187.458 mph.