FOUNTAIN, Colo., June 15 (UPI) -- For the second time this season, Marlboro Team Penske swept the front row for and Indy Racing League event.
Gil de Ferran won the pole Saturday for Sunday's Radisson 225 at Pikes Peak International Raceway, knocking teammate Helio Castroneves out of the top spot.
De Ferran clocked 177.998 miles per hour in a Dallara/Chevrolet to bump two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Castroneves, who ran a lap at 177.950 mph around the one-mile oval.
"This is not fair, what you do to your young brother," the 27-year-old Castroneves said to the 32-year-old de Ferran.
It was de Ferran's second IRL pole this year. He also won the pole at Nazareth in April.
"What you see here today with Helio and I sitting on the front row is not about me and him, it's about the team," de Ferran said. "There are some tracks we have hardly any experience and with this being a two-day show puts even more pressure on the team.
"The team did a great job preparing for this race. We tested here in April and at least my car was 90 percent ready. All I had to do today was massage the setup a little bit. All Helio and I had to do was stand on the gas."
Earlier in the day, Castroneves turned the first 180-plus mph lap in PPIR history when he ran a lap at 180.352 mph. Windy and warmer conditions slowed the field during the late afternoon qualification session.
"We just tried to go too fast, we used one gear taller than what we ran in practice," said Castroneves, the IRL point's leader. "The speed is not that hard to find. The whole team is working together. The race is something that will be new to us. It's one thing to run four or five laps, but it's another to run 225 laps on a track we've never been to before."
Felipe Giaffone was third at 177.938 mph in a G Force/Chevrolet, giving Brazilians a sweep of the top three starting positions.
Defending IRL champion Sam Hornish Jr. was fourth at 177.182 mph in a Dallara/Chevrolet and Scott Sharp rounded out the top five with a lap at 176.910 mph in a Dallara/Chevrolet.
