FORT WORTH, Texas, June 10 (UPI) -- Dario Franchitti turned in a lap of 209.609 miles per hour Thursday night to grab the pole for Saturday night's Bombardier 500.
"First time I've ever driven at night and an IRL car at Texas," Franchitti said. "It was fun. It was a day of firsts."
It was Franchitti's first IRL pole and the Andretti Green driver was able to knock Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Rice off the pole after he ran a lap at 208.755 mph in a G Force/Honda.
Franchitti's teammate, Tony Kanaan, was third at 208.511 mph in a Dallara/Honda followed by Kosuke Matsuura of Japan, who ran a lap of 208.360 mph in a G Force/Honda.
Bryan Herta, another Andretti Green driver, rounded out the top five at 208.001 mph in a Dallara/Honda.
Twenty-two cars will line up for the green flag of Saturday night's race, which starts at 8 p.m. EDT.
