The qualifying competition between Dan Wheldon and Sam Hornish Jr. was transferred from Kansas Speedway to Nashville Superspeedway. Now, let the racing begin anew.

The front row – in fact, the first two rows — will be occupied by red and white cars for the second consecutive IndyCar Series race. Wheldon earned his second consecutive Marlboro Pole award in the No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone and will be joined by Hornish’s No. 6 Honda-powered Dallara on Row 1.

Two weeks ago at Kansas Speedway, the finishing order was reversed, allowing Hornish to grab the lead in the standings through seven events. Wheldon enters the Firestone Indy 200 (9 p.m. ET, ESPN) fourth in the standings. Their spirited competition on the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway oval is expected to continue in the race on the 1.33-mile concrete oval.

“This was a good run, but we need a race win,” said Wheldon, the reigning IndyCar Series champion who is 43 points shy of Hornish in the championship race through eight of 14 events. “We’ve been chasing the red and white cars of Penske all year. It seems like Sam and I are in a familiar place again. I just need to drive the thing fast tomorrow.

“We’re in the championship hunt, and we need to start winning races along with qualifying well. It’s time to win a race.”

Wheldon is the first driver this season (Bryan Herta early in 2005 was the last) to start consecutive races from the pole. He recorded a best lap of 203.293 mph (23.0210 seconds) as the track temperature reached 123 degrees. Hornish, aiming to tie Wheldon’s series record with three consecutive victories, posted a qualifying speed of 202.362 mph (23.1269 seconds).

“You always want to start on the pole, but you come here to win the race,” said Hornish, who has three victories this season but has never won at Nashville Superspeedway. “The car was pretty good. We’re not sure if we took enough downforce off the car for qualifying. We’re really happy with how our race car was handling in practice.

“It’s always a little bit tough to pass here. You need to make sure you have a good handling car and good pit stops. Team Penske has done a good job for me the last two races.”

Their teammates – Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon (202.194) and Marlboro Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves (201.995) – will comprise Row 2. Their finishing order also was reversed at Kansas. Dixon had to scratch his initial qualifying attempt because of a sticky gearbox issue. The problem was quickly addressed on pit lane, and Dixon had only one lap to stick as his qualification time. “It started from this morning,” Dixon said. “In the second session, we blew the gearbox in two laps. We couldn’t really get any time in the car. We had to come back here, change the gearbox and then the shift-pod was in the wrong position. It was stuck on the neutral. We ended up doing about 140 mph. Luckily, the guys got it sorted, and we got to go out and do one lap for qualifying. Third’s better than last.”

Defending race winner Dario Franchitti (201.896) and Andretti Green Racing teammate Tony Kanaan (201.628) will sit on Row 3. Panther Racing’s Vitor Meira (200.819) and Delphi Fernandez Racing’s Scott Sharp (200.801) are on the fourth row.

“I’m pretty happy with our qualifying effort,” Franchitti said. “This is closer to what the Klein Tools/Canadian Club team expects. Nashville isn’t an out-and-out superspeedway like the 1.5-mile tracks. It’s kind of half a handing track and half a superspeedway. The concrete surface creates a lot of marbles and you can’t make any mistakes here. If the car isn’t right, it can be a long night, but when the car is as good as it was last year, it’s pretty easy.”

Jeff Bucknum, making his 2006 debut in the No. 14 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Dallara/Honda/Firestone, will start 17th (198.450). Ryan Briscoe, competing on his first oval since crashing at Chicagoland Speedway last September, will start 13th in the No. 5 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone. Danica Patrick, who started second and finished seventh here last year, checks in on the outside of Row 5 (200.283).

[IRL PR]

STARTING LINEUP:

1. (10) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 203.293
2. (6) Sam Hornish Jr., Dallara-Honda, 202.362
3. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 202.194
4. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 201.995
5. (27) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 201.896
6. (11) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 201.628
7. (4) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 200.819
8. (8) Scott Sharp, Dallara-Honda, 200.801
9. (2) Tomas Scheckter, Dallara-Honda, 200.426
10. (16) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 200.283
11. (15) Buddy Rice, Dallara-Honda, 200.274
12. (55) Kosuke Matsuura, Dallara-Honda, 199.744
13. (5) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 199.607
14. (20) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 199.512
15. (17) Jeff Simmons, Dallara-Honda, 199.457
16. (7) Bryan Herta, Dallara-Honda, 199.386
17. (14) Jeff Bucknum, Dallara-Honda, 198.450
18. (26) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 198.311

FIRESTONE INDY 200 POST QUALIFYING QUOTES:

DAN WHELDON (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone, Marlboro Pole Award winner): “This was a good run, but we need a race win. We’ve been chasing the red and white cars of Penske all year. It’s seems like Sam and I are in a familiar place again. I just need to drive the thing fast tomorrow. We’re in the championship hunt, and we need to start winning races along with qualifying well. It’s time to win a race.”

SAM HORNISH JR. (No. 6 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Honda/Firestone, qualified second): “The car was pretty good. We’re not sure if we took enough downforce off the car for qualifying. We’re really happy with how our race car was handling in practice. We’ll see after final practice if we’re just as confident. You’re always happy to try to start as far up front as you can, but we’re here to win the race. It’s always a little bit tough to pass here. You need to make sure you have a good handling car and good pit stop. Team Penske has done a good job for me the last two races.”

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone, qualified third): “It started from this morning. In the second session, we blew the gearbox in two laps. We couldn’t really get any time in the car. We had to come back here, change the gearbox and then the shift-pod was in the wrong position. It was stuck on the neutral. We ended up doing about 140 mph. Luckily, the guys got it sorted, and we got to go out and do one lap for qualifying. Third’s better than last.”

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Honda/Firestone, qualified fourth): “I’m pretty happy with how things have gone today. The Marlboro Team Penske car has been very solid despite the heat. Obviously, we wish that we were a little quicker in qualifying, but I think we have a great car for the race, which is the most important thing. Hopefully, we’ll be able to capitalize on it and return to victory lane.”

DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 27 Klein Tools/Canadian Club Dallara/Honda/Firestone, qualified fifth): “I’m pretty happy with our qualifying effort. This is closer to what the Klein Tools/Canadian Club team expects. Nashville isn’t an out-and-out superspeedway like the 1.5-mile tracks. It’s kind of half handing track and half a superspeedway. The concrete surface creates a lot of marbles and you can’t make any mistakes here. If the car isn’t right, it can be a long night, but when the car is as good as it was last year, it’s pretty easy.”

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