Sears Point: Honda qualifying report

Castroneves Claims Pole at Infineon

Team Penske's Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe qualified 1-2 Saturday at Infineon Raceway in preparation for Sunday's Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County, the team's third consecutive 1-2 road-course qualifying performance this year. Although winless in 2008, Castroneves is second in the drivers' championship, 78 points behind leader Scott Dixon, who will start fifth tomorrow.

Australian driver Will Power qualified third with his teammate, Oriol Servia, sixth, as KV Racing continues to improve as the season progresses. Tony Kanaan, still with a mathematical chance at the '08 title, qualified fourth. Sunday's 80-lap race, IndyCar's third and final natural road-course event this season, starts at 5:30 p.m. EDT, with live television coverage on ESPN.

Helio Castroneves (#3 Team Penske Honda) pole qualifier, 3rd pole of 2008 and record-extending 26th career IndyCar pole: "It was a big fight today, especially with [teammate] Ryan [Briscoe], and we really had to work hard. But starting first is a big deal here, and we had a great car. It's another great rebound for our entire team. We still need to go for it tomorrow to have a chance in the championship."

-credit: honda