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INDIANAPOLIS -- Alex Tagliani broke up the monopoly in the top-heavy IndyCar series and became the first Canadian to earn the pole for the Indianapolis 500.
On a day each of the series' three top teams -- Andretti Autopsort, Target Chip Ganassi and Team Penske -- made big mistakes, it was a 37-year-old Canadian who got it right twice with a four-lap average of 227.472 mph on the day's final run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday.
One of Ganassi's drivers, Scott Dixon, will start next to Tagliani on the front row. Defending champ Dario Franchitti could have joined them had he not run out of fuel on the final qualifying lap. Spain's Oriol Servia will start third.
"I'm getting tired of the Penske and Ganassi domination, here especially at the 500," Tagliani said after the morning run that gave Sam Schmidt Motorsports the provisional Indy pole. "I think a lot of people are craving for it, and if we can do it, it would be nice."
He did it twice Saturday -- once in the morning and again in the evening.