Motorsport: Dixon well placed for title hunt

When I last chatted to Scott Dixon on the eve of qualifying, he said he'd settle for the front two rows of the grid.

True to his word, he planted his Target Chip Gnassi Racing No9 car on the second row - albeit on the outside on his fifth straight Indianapolis 500 start in the top six.

Joining Dixon on row two are Ryan Briscoe and Alex Tagliani with last year's winner Helio Castroneves, Will Power and Dario Franchitti up front. The first American, Graham Rahal, is on row three, having qualified in seventh.

"It was tough, you know - you're sort of in there on your own," said Dixon. "Although you've got a radio, nobody's really talking as they're trying to figure out what changes to make to the car. It was action-packed. I was pushing the pedal as hard as I could, but we just didn't have the speed."

Pole-sitter Castroneves was quick right from the get go and his car was ideally set up for qualifying. However, a quick car in qualifying doesn't translate to a quick car on race day. The drivers have an almost completely different car for the race because of the different demands of racing.

"At Indy, we qualify with about 1600lbs of down-force but on race day we'll be up to 2200lb. Then the springs change quite a bit, being stiffer because you're carrying full tanks and the weight moves around a bit.

"On top of that the toe-in [wheel camber] is changed, as is the cross weight of the car to make it a bit more predictable and consistent," said Dixon.

In qualifying, the drivers are going for out-and-out speed and for the car to corner the best it can. On race day, the drivers are looking for consistency and a bit of comfort. Teams have to get their cars to work in traffic rather than an empty track. In traffic, the air is dirty and cars can become a bit loose because of reduced down-force. Weather also plays a part in how the car is set up - and it's not just rain that affects the handling. If the track is cold, the tyres take longer to heat up and lose heat faster during a pit stop.

"When you're really trimmed out, the weather even makes a difference to the horsepower the engine produces. If the conditions change during the race, you can lose up to a mile or a mile and a half in speed. It does take its toll," said Dixon.

Although he'd have liked to have been on the front row, Dixon's not too bothered as it's a long race. He's at the sharp end of the field and will avoid the mid-pack scrape for position that goes on early in the race.

"The Penske cars are quick and Helio was fast and Briscoe is looking good. It's going to be the usual suspects. Obviously my team-mate Dario will be one to keep an eye on as well and Marco [Andretti] has looked quick and then there's always Tony [Kannan]."

This year's race could be the closest yet as only 3.06secs separate pole-sitter Castroneves from the last man to make the 33-car field, Sebastian Saavedra. There are also four previous winners - Dixon, Castroneves, Wheldon and Franchitti.