INDY RACING LEAGUE Rice edges Meira again to nab pole

Buddy Rice edged his teammate again to capture his second straight pole.
GLADEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Buddy Rice nipped teammate Vitor Meira once again at the end.
Rice grabbed his second straight pole Friday and fourth this year with a lap of 201.231 mph at Nashville Superspeedway, edging Meira by an even-smaller margin than he needed to beat his teammate at Kansas on July 4 in the second-closest finish in Indy Racing League history.
That victory by 0.0051 seconds measured about seven inches, and Rice said someone else can calculate this distance. He plans to enjoy starting on the pole for tonight's Firestone Indy 200 in search of his third victory this year.
"We're starting Nashville exactly how we finished Kansas, so it's super close again, and I think tomorrow night's going to be a really exciting race," Rice said.
First on track
Meira was the first driver on the track in qualifying, and he didn't waste any time posting the fastest lap after being the quickest in the first two practice sessions. But with points leader Tony Kanaan and Rice still to qualify, Meira didn't think he would stay on the pole.
"Being the first one out I think hurt. But again, it's the draw. It's the way it is," he said. "One time we're going to be first. One time we're going to be last. It's just a matter of patience."
Still, his speed held up until Rice went out as the next-to-last qualifier. Rice wasn't fast enough on his first lap, then he got his Honda up to speed on the second to take the pole away from Meira in what he called a team effort.
"As long as we don't crash into each other, we're all fine," Rice said.
Felipe Giaffone was the last driver on the track after problems with an air-box change cost him his qualifying spot and one of his two laps. He couldn't get up to speed quickly enough on one lap and qualified 19th.
Honda engines fill top 5
Honda engines filled the top five spots with Bryan Herta starting third followed by Andretti Green Racing teammates Dan Wheldon and Kanaan. With the smaller engine and new aerodynamics being used by the IRL to slow the fields, Rice's qualifying time was 5 mph off the track record of 206.211 set by Scott Dixon last year.
Rice believes having his teammate next to him on the front row will be a big boost at the only concrete track on the IRL schedule. This will be the IRL's fourth race on the 1.33-mile, D-shaped oval, yet passing will be limited because the track is slick outside of the groove.
"It's going to be key to make sure we get through the traffic all night because this track does not present itself to a two-groove track," Rice said.
Rice and Meira gave Rahal Letterman Racing its first front row since 2001 at Michigan.