THE LINE

May 25, 2011

(Jim Haines/IndyCar)
Alex Tagliani is congratulated by Dario Franchitti after his stunning pole-winning performance in Saturday's qualifying session at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Tagliani is the first Canadian-born driver to win the Indianapolis 500 pole. Scott Goodyear started third in 1995, the previous best for a driver from the Great White North. Tagliani, a native of Lachenaie, Quebec, a suburb of Montreal, also gave Sam Schmidt Motorsports it's first-ever pole, which shocked many. Franchitti had a solid, front or second row qualifying run going when his Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda-powered Dallara inexplicably ran out of fuel on his third lap, a monumental mistake by the normally unflappable team.

(Jim Haines/IndyCar)
It has been a long hard road for Sam Schmidt after he was paralyzed in a crash in an Indy car a decade ago, but his spirit has remained undaunted and his tears of absolute joy over Tags' pole-winning performance for the biggest race in the world were shared by many at The Speedway on Saturday.

(Shawn Gritzmacher/IndyCar)
Graham Rahal prepares to go out for practice on Sunday.

(Bret Kelley/IndyCar)
Danica Patrick struggled to qualify in her No. 7 GoDaddy-sponsored machine (she'll go off in 26th position) along with the rest of the Andretti Autosport organization as the team failed to put two of its drivers (Ryan Hunter-Reay and Mike Conway) in the field for the 500. "I don't think there's a really great answer for why I was faster in qualifying today," Patrick said after Sunday's run. "I was disappointed with how slow I went at the end. That's Indy. I've always said that this place is its own person. It reads you when you're nervous. It reads you when you're not confident. It reads you when you are. It throws a lot at you, but that's why this is the greatest racetrack in the world."

(John Cote/IndyCar)
Rain played a huge role in disrupting proceedings at the Speedway all last weekend.

(Chris Jones/IndyCar)
Marco Andretti put it all on the line and then some to get his car into the Indy 500 field on the last run of the day on Sunday, but he had to bump his teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay out of the field to do it. "I knew we were going to be hanging it out at the end there," Andretti said. "Our approach was we're going home anyway. Really, I mean, the way we went out, it was either stick it in the fence or stick it in the show. So luckily we were on the upside of that.... Yeah, I'm feeling for Mike (Conway), as well. But I think the pair of them are two of the best in the business. Ryan (Hunter-Reay) has had terrible luck this year. Fortunately, Mike got a win, but Ryan has been in a position to win a lot of races this year and came short for whatever reason. I was just so fortunate to be on the upside of the circumstances..." You could tell by the expression on Michael Andretti's face that it wasn't a good day. "I knew it was going to come to that," Michael said later. "I knew I wasn't going to be happy either way. I'm ecstatic for Marco, and I'm heartbroken for Ryan and DHL and heartbroken for Mike and the Hired Heroes guys and 7-Eleven. It was not a good day. It was probably my worst day as an owner, for sure."

 (Jim Haines/indyCar)
Marco waits it out with Mario as the afternoon unfolds on Sunday.

(Chris Jones/IndyCar)
Helio Castroneves visits with Chip Ganassi after a disappointing qualifying performance for Team Penske. Even though Will Power put his No. 12 verizon-sponsored car in the middle of Row 2, Helio ended-up on the inside of Row 6 in the No. 3 Shell V-Power/Pennzoil Ultra Team Penske car -- his lowest in 11 starts. Ryan Briscoe will start way back in 27th position after a crash in Saturday's warm-up  forced him into his backup machine. It is the first time since 2004 that a Penske Racing car didn't qualify on the front row.

(Shawn Gritzmacher/IndyCar)
The great Rick Mears, a record six-time pole winner at The Speedway, contemplates Team Penske's sub par performance in qualifying.

 (Chris Jones/IndyCar)
It was the toughest of days for Ryan Hunter-Reay...

(Chris Jones/IndyCar)
...and Mike Conway too.

(Jim Haines/IndyCar)
Bronte and Alex Tagliani celebrate his pole-winning performance for the Indy 500.

Editor-in-Chief's Note: If you really must keep up on all of the latest F1 developments and the potential U.S. GP in Austin, Texas, go here. - PMD

Editor-in-Chief's Note: Check out Michelin's racing website - "Michelin Alley" - and get in on all of the behind-the-scenes buzz. Go here. - PMD

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE AE STORE

See another live episode of "Autoline After Hours" with hosts John McElroy, from Autoline Detroit, and Peter De Lorenzo, The Autoextremist, and guests this Thursday evening, at 7:00PM EDT at www.autolinedetroit.tv.

By the way, if you'd like to subscribe to the Autoline After Hours podcasts, click on the following links:

Subscribe via iTunes:

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=311421319

Subscribe via RSS:

http://www.autolinedetroit.tv/podcasts/feeds/afterhours-audio.xml