Castroneves stays hot, takes 3rd straight pole

Two-time defending champion Sam Hornish was third-fastest.
FONTANA, Calif. (AP) -- Helio Castroneves will start on the pole for the third consecutive race, and second year in a row at California Speedway.
The two-time Indianapolis 500 champion turned in a lap at 217.47 mph on Saturday in qualifying for the Toyota 400.
Scott Dixon will start in the No. 2 spot in the Indy Race League event today after logging a lap of 216.30 mph.
Two-time defending champion Sam Hornish was third fastest, with a lap of 216.06.
Darren Manning escaped serious injury when his car spun out and rammed into a SAFER barrier in the second turn during his second qualifying lap.
Manning, who was conscious and alert, felt some back pain and was taken to Loma Linda Medical Center for precautionary X-rays.
His first lap, at 215.82, was good enough to put him on the second row, although he will -- if he's able to drive in the race -- be dropped to the rear of the grid if he has to use a backup car.
Mechanical problem
Tony Kanaan, needing only to finish in the top four to claim this year's series points championship, had a mechanical problem and didn't get in a qualifying lap.
"There are days like this and we haven't had one all year, so I don't think I can complain," Kanaan said.
"I just don't take this as a negative. I think it's a very positive thing -- it's good that it happened today."
That put him in the 22nd and final starting position for this year's next-to-last IRL event.
Castroneves, looking for his first win of the season, was the final driver to go in qualifying. He liked that.
"You can see what a lot of people are doing," the 29-year-old Brazilian said. He added with a grin, "Or you can change things too many times."
His crew made sure there was no waffling while he waited his turn, however.
"I was pretty confident out there. When I saw 217.5, they [his crew] said, 'OK, bring it in.' "
Looking ahead
Castroneves, whose best finish of the year was a second in the season-opener in Homestead, Fla., was sixth at Fontana last year after running third on the 2-mile, D-shaped oval in 2002.
Heading into the 400-mile race this time, Castroneves had words of caution for his fellow drivers. He doesn't want anyone to get too aggressive too early, going three- or four- or five-wide and causing an accident.
That's been a subject of official discussion within the IRL recently.
"It's 200 laps. With 10 laps to go, that's different," Castroneves said. "You're not going to win the race in the first lap, the 30th lap, the 50th lap.
"If you get frustrated, you should just swallow, breathe and come back again. You can't use your car as a weapon. Everybody should keep their head."
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