De Ferran

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Gil de Ferran has been caught up in a whirlwind of activity since winning the Indianapolis 500. Now, it's time to drive again.

"It is a mental exercise for sure, forget about everything going on and get back in the car," de Ferran said Thursday. "You have an idea about the significance and meaning of the Indy 500. When it actually happens to you, it's mind-boggling."

After a seemingly endless series of interviews and appearances in the nearly two weeks since winning at the Brickyard, de Ferran is turning his attention back to racing.

De Ferran qualified eighth for the Indy Racing League's race at Texas Motor Speedway, turning a lap of 216.028 mph on Thursday night. That is two spots better than Marlboro Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves.

"We were hoping for a bit more, but we're OK," de Ferran said. "We're in the top 10. We just need to find a little more speed. The car if fine, handling well."

Target Chip Ganassi teammates Tomas Scheckter and Scott Dixon will start on the front row Saturday night. Scheckter earned the pole with a lap of 219.300 and Dixon, who moved to the IRL this year after two seasons in CART, ran a lap at 218.654.

The Bombardier 500 will be the IRL's 11th race at TMS. Seven of the races have been decided by less than a second, including the last six.

De Ferran finished 16th at Texas last June, one of only three finishes out of the top 10 last year in the two-time CART champion's first IRL season. He was third in points, behind Sam Hornish Jr. and Castroneves, even though he missed the season finale at Texas because of a concussion and broken wrist.

This season, de Ferran was the runner-up in the season opener, then finished 14th at Phoenix after an accident that left him with two broken vertebrae. That forced him to miss the Japan race before Indianapolis, but he is still fourth in season points.

Now his focus is on trying to win a season title. With 12 of 16 races still left, he will have to wait until October for some personal reflection on his win at Indy.

"I'm an introspective person, and I haven't really had time to sit by the pool, look at the sky and actually focus on my own thoughts," he said. "Maybe that will only happen after the season ends, because now you go from one thing straight to another."

Castroneves and de Ferran have made Team Penske a dominate force in IRL. But the young Target drivers are turning into a formidable duo.

Scheckter earned first pole of the season and fourth of his career. His first career pole came last June at Texas, when as a rookie for Eddie Cheever's team he led 107 laps before a clutch problem on his last scheduled stop ended his night.

"The car was really perfect from the moment we went out," Scheckter said. "I have to thank Scott. He came here and did the test. We made two minor changes."

Scheckter finished fourth at Indianapolis, leading a race-high 63 laps in his best finish of the season and the second straight year he led the most laps at Indy. Dixon won the season-opening race at Homestead, Fla., but hasn't finished another race this season.

Series points leader Tony Kanaan starts fourth (217.149), on the outside of Tora Takagi (218.027).

Airton Dare broke his right arm and right leg Thursday when his car slammed twice into the wall and spun out of control during practice. He will be replaced in the second A.J. Foyt Racing entry by Jaques Lazier, who will start at the back of the 22-car field since he didn't run any qualifying laps.

"I'm speechless. I came to watch this weekend, and I hate to get a ride like this," Lazier said. "My thoughts are with Airton and I'm glad he's going to be OK. To be driving for a legend like A.J. is beyond words."

Dare was in stable condition at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, where he was taken by helicopter after the accident.