WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- Helio Castroneves and Scott Dixon are both going for four-peats this weekend in the Watkins Glen International and only one of them hopes to achieve the milestone.
Castroneves, driving the No. 3 car for Team Penske, has started all three IndyCar races at Watkins Glen from the pole position, and never won.
For three straight years Dixon has driven his No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi car to victory.
"I sure don't want it," Dixon joked when asked Friday if he would like to see Castroneves on the pole again this weekend. "Helio's had some pretty bad luck sitting on the pole. I think if I start in the first four (he's been there each year) it's been pretty good luck. No, really, if we can lead from the front it would be great."
Castroneves is in second place in the IndyCar Series points standings, 43 points behind Dixon and the only driver in the top five without a win this season. He would give up the pole here in exchange for a win after finishing 12th, eighth and 18th in previous Watkins Glen events.
"We didn't have the result we wanted in the last few years, but we've shown a lot of speed here," Castroneves said following Friday's first practice session that was delayed about 30 minutes after a white-tailed deer was spotted on the track.
"Hopefully we can continue to show that speed and we can make it (a win) happen this year. One day, the door will be open so I'll keep knocking."
Qualifying on the 5.4-kilometre natural terrain course with 11 turns and a number of elevation changes goes today under a three-round elimination format rather than just using the best single lap times.
Dixon used last year's win at Watkins Glen to propel him to a strong finish to the season that gave him the series championship. He's hoping for a repeat performance this year.
"This stretch has been pretty powerful for us," he said. "Whether we can do that again, it's pretty slim."
Last year, he narrowly avoided the crashing Castroneves en route to his victory.
-- Canwest News Service
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