#EdmontonIndy Starting Grid
With this morning's warmup in the books, the starting grid for today's Edmonton Indy (2:30 pm ET, NBC Sports Network) is set with three of the top four drivers in the IZOD IndyCar Series championship kicked into the pack after 10-spot grid penalties for unapproved engine changes.
Ryan Hunter-Reay (qualified on pole), Will Power (qualified 7th), and Scott Dixon (qualified 8th) -- first, second and fourth in the standings respectively -- will have to wind their way through the field and perhaps play a bit of strategy in order to get back up front.
Their penalties may prove fortuitous for Helio Castroneves, who sits third in the standings and will start fifth in the race after qualifying sixth on Saturday. Castroneves has earned three second-place finishes in four starts at Edmonton and wants to finally get the top spot on the podium there.
Dixon was the fastest in this morning's warmup session, posting a lap of 76.9006 seconds in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Rubens Barrichello was second-quickest and Mike Conway bounced back from mechanical woes in qualifying to go P3, indicating the strong pace he's had at times over the weekend.
Also getting tagged with 10-spot grid penalties today are Oriol Servia (qualified 20th) and Simona de Silvestro (qualified 23rd).
Here's how the grid looks for this afternoon's 75-lapper around Edmonton's City Center Airport:
ROW 1
10-Dario Franchitti, Ganassi/Honda
6-Ryan Briscoe, Penske/Chevrolet
ROW 2
15-Takuma Sato, RLL/Honda
98-Alex Tagliani, Herta/Honda
ROW 3
3-Helio Castroneves, Penske/Chevrolet
77-Simon Pagenaud, SHM/Honda (rookie)
ROW 4
8-Rubens Barrichello, KVRT/Chevrolet
38-Graham Rahal, Ganassi/Honda
ROW 5
27-James Hinchcliffe, Andretti/Chevrolet
18-Justin Wilson, Coyne/Honda
ROW 6
28-Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti/Chevrolet
7-Sebastien Bourdais, Dragon/Chevrolet
ROW 7
67-Josef Newgarden, SFHR/Honda
19-James Jakes, Coyne/Honda
ROW 8
26-Marco Andretti, Andretti/Chevrolet
5-E.J. Viso, KVRT/Chevrolet
ROW 9
12-Will Power, Penske/Chevrolet
9-Scott Dixon, Ganassi/Honda
ROW 10
83-Charlie Kimball, Ganassi/Honda
4-J.R. Hildebrand, Panther/Chevrolet
ROW 11
11-Tony Kanaan, KVRT/Chevrolet
20-Ed Carpenter, ECR/Chevrolet
ROW 12
14-Mike Conway, Foyt/Honda
22-Oriol Servia, Panther+DRR/Chevrolet
ROW 13
78-Simona de Silvestro, HVM/Lotus
