IRL INDY 300 Hearns wins the pole in record time

This marks the second pole of Richie Hearn's career.
JOLIET, Ill. (AP) -- Richie Hearn expected to be in California this weekend, doing a six-hour, go-kart endurance race with his father and a bunch of buddies.
No offense to them, but he's much happier being where he is.
Just 10 days after Team Menard hired him for the IRL's Delphi Indy 300, Hearn won the pole Saturday in record time. His lap at 223.159 mph was the fastest ever in qualifying at the Chicagoland Speedway.
"It's real easy to get down on yourself when you're sitting at home, watching all these races on TV," Hearn said. "This kind of helps me remind myself I can drive a race car. Hopefully I'll get more chances."
Also in front row
Tomas Scheckter will join Hearn on the front row today, qualifying at 223.083. Starting third will be Felipe Giaffone, racing for the first time since breaking his right leg and pelvis in an accident July 6.
"Someone told me that when you crash, you come back better, so that is what I'm expecting," Giaffone said. "It feels great to be back and to be doing well. It was a hard eight weeks."
Defending champion Sam Hornish Jr. will start eighth. Helio Castroneves, who leads a tight points race, will start ninth.
It's been a hard four years for Hearn. He finished third at the Indianapolis 500 in 1996, the best finish by a rookie that year. But he bounced between CART and IRL for the next three years, and hasn't had a full-time ride since 1999.
His only other race this year was at Indianapolis, where he drove for Sam Schmidt Motorsports. But a crash with Jaques Lazier knocked him out of the race in the 61st lap.
Hearn was so discouraged that he tossed his racing gear into a closet when he got home, not even bothering to wash his suit.
Got the call
Then, on Aug. 26, he got a phone call telling him Team Menard was looking for someone to fill in for Vitor Meira, who is out with a broken wrist. Hearn had two hours to dig out that racing suit, pack a bag and catch a flight to Indianapolis.
The next day, he was on the track testing.
"It's real easy sometimes to just say, 'Forget it,' because it's hard to get a ride," Hearn said. "I still believe that I can do it, and I'm glad that these guys gave me a chance to prove that to them."
Hearn knew he had a good car after two days of practice, battling back and forth with Scheckter for the fastest times. They figured they would be close when it counted Saturday, and they were.
Scheckter, who already has won two poles this year, was the eighth car on the track and ran 223.083. That broke the qualifying record Hornish set last year.
"It was good," Scheckter said. "But not good enough."
Eleven more drivers qualified before Hearn got on the track, none going faster than Scheckter. But Hearn ran 223.159 on his first lap, and didn't even bother going for a second.
"I think I could have gone a little quicker, but we didn't want to push it," Hearn said. "No reason to go any further."
The pole is the second of Hearn's career, but his first since New Hampshire in 1996.
While Hearn's deal with Menard is only for this race, he's hoping he can convince the team to run a second car for the last two races if he does well. And if history is any guide, he will.
In the first two Delphi Indy 300s, the polesitter went on to win.