[MotorSports News]

MOTEGI, Japan - It was an unusual spot for Mario Moraes, watching the monitor as one car after another attempted to knock him from the provisional pole for the Indy Japan 300.
He shunned "what if" questions, suggesting it was bad luck to presume his first IndyCar Series pole start. Finally, the last of 23 cars rolled onto the 1.52-mile Twin Ring Motegi oval for the four-lap qualifying run as TV and still cameras surrounded Moraes on the hot seat.
Click it: Starting lineup for the Indy Japan 300
Scott Dixon in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing entry - the pole winner in the inaugural IndyCar Series races at the track in 2003 - posted a first lap of 202.010 mph and Moraes smiled. Lap 2 was 202.047 mph and Moraes shook his head. Lap 3 was 202.010 mph and Moraes grimaced, expecting the inevitable. Lap 4 was 202.036 mph and Moraes shrugged with the personal assurance he didn't leave anything on the track.
"We have a really good car on ovals, and though it's a tough track I had a good car today," said Moraes, who recorded a four-lap average of 201.504 mph in the No. 5 Azul Tequila-Votorantim-KV Racing Technology car. "We've been working really hard all season long. I'm happy it's my first front row."
All in all, Moraes wouldn't mind being on the hot seat again. The 20-yer-old Brazilian, who didn't have a top-10 start on an oval in his first IndyCar Series season in '08, has started on the first five rows at six of the eight ovals (four of the five 1.5-mile ovals) this season. He's coming off an IndyCar Series career-best third place at Chicagoland Speedway.
"It is going to be a long race, but we will change a few things tonight and I feel confident because we already have a fast car, so hopefully we can have a good result," said Moraes, whose four laps varied by 0.1379 of a second.
Dixon earned his first PEAK Performance Pole Award presented by AutoZone of the season (he started on the pole at Kentucky Speedway based on entrant points when qualifications were rained out) to garner an early upper hand for the 200-lap race and a valuable bonus point. He's 32 behind championship points leader Ryan Briscoe entering the penultimate race of the season.
"For me, it's definitely all out (in this race)," said Dixon, who has finished third and fourth the past two years at Twin Ring Motegi. "We've got to try to gain obviously the pole point.♫It's only one, but it definitely helps.♫It's also good for the ego coming into the race, maybe confidence over some of the others.
"Championships come down to that one point.♫It's definitely heading in the right direction.♫Last year we were dominating the race and still you could not be on the right strategy and somebody else could win.♫So we've got to try to keep pushing, but do it I think skillfully to make sure we don't go out there, burn a bunch of fuel, get ourselves in trouble as well.♫
"First step is done.♫Hopefully, we can continue in that direction.♫But we've still got 32 points to catch up to Ryan.♫That's a lot of points, unless he has a bad day."
Of course, Briscoe, driving the No. 6 Team Penske car (200.849 mph), doesn't plan on it. He will join Dario Franchitti (201.395), who is 25 points arrears of Briscoe, on Row 2. But he won't have his wingman, Helio Castroneves, nearby at the start. Castroneves' No. 3 car side-swiped the SAFER Barrier exiting Turn 4 on his third qualifying lap and will start toward the rear.
"I think our race car is better than our qualifying car right now," Franchitti said. "(Briscoe has) to keep an eye on what we're doing. We've got to go out there and close the points gap. We'll be doing the best we possibly can."
Graham Rahal (200.649) and Danica Patrick (200.519), the defending race champion, will be on Row 3. Oriol Servia qualified a season-best seventh (199.703), which also is his IndyCar Series high on an oval. He'll be joined by two-time race winner Dan Wheldon (199.693).
"The car improved so much between the practice session and qualifying," said Servia, competing in his final race of the season.♫"I pushed more and more but I never got to the limit of the car even on the last lap so I'm pretty confident that there was a faster lap in the car.♫I am with a great team so I have to say they made the right changes.♫The good thing is that tomorrow I have 200 laps to reach the potential.♫It feels like I have a great car under me and that's what we need to be consistent and get to the front."
Patrick's Andretti Green Racing teammate, Tony Kanaan, who qualified 14th (198.560), was sent to the rear of the grid after the No. 11 Team 7-Eleven car failed post-qualifying technical inspection. Andretti Green Racing driver Hideki Mutoh also will start toward the rear after the No. 27 Formula Dream car made contact with the Turn 3 SAFER Barrier on his second qualifying lap.
Justin Wilson and Tomas Scheckter fill out the top 10, while the other Japanese drivers in the field, Kosuke Matsuura and Roger Yasukawa, will start in the middle.
"I want to first thank Click Securities and Conquest Racing again for this opportunity," said Matsuura, the 2004 IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year. "It was great to be back in the car. The second practice♫didn't go as we would have liked so after the session, my engineer Mike (Colliver) made some changes and in qualifying I was able to put in my quickest times so far this weekend. I'm starting 17th and I'm looking forward to a good race."




9/18 :: Dixon gets the point