INDY RACING LEAGUE

• Briscoe nips Wilson for pole at Mid-Ohio

  
  

  Lexington, OH (Sports Network) - Ryan Briscoe held off a fierce challenge from Justin Wilson in the "Fast Six" final qualifying segment to capture the pole for Sunday's Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

  Briscoe, the current IndyCar Series points leader and last weekend's winner at Kentucky, threw down the fastest lap at 121.905 m.p.h. (one minute, 6.6814 seconds) in his No.6 Team Penske car.

  His lap was .03 seconds faster than Wilson from Dale Coyne Racing. Both drivers ran on the softer Firestone "red" tires.

  "I was able to do the same thing at Edmonton, but really didn't get enough out of those sticker set (of tires)," Briscoe said. "But here, I was determined to squeeze all of the juice I could out of those tires, and I didn't realize that Wilson also had the new set of tires." Briscoe recorded his third pole of the season and the seventh of his IndyCar career.

  He also set a new qualifying record at the 2.258-mile, 13-turn road course, eclipsing his teammate Helio Castroneves' 2007 record here.

  Wilson's lap at 121.870 m.p.h.

  secured him the outside pole, while Scott Dixon, who was quickest in the first two qualifying rounds, ended up third in the final session.Graham Rahal will share the second row with Dixon.

  Castroneves and Dario Franchitti will occupy row three. Castroneves had won the pole for the first two races at Mid-Ohio.

  Ryan Hunter-Reay and Tony Kanaan will start from the fourth row, and E.J. Viso and Paul Tracy will roll off from row five. Tracy is filling in for Mario Moraes in the No.5 KV Racing Technology car this weekend while Moraes remains in Brazil after the passing of his father, Mario Ermirio de Moraes, earlier this week.

  Andretti Green Racing teammates Hideki Mutoh and Danica Patrick will line up on row six.

  Sunday's race is scheduled to start around 1:45 p.m. (et).

  08/08 15:01:03 ET