Briscoe puts Team Penske back on Indy 500 pole

Roger Penske’s strategy beat Michael Andretti’s team by inches Saturday – 9.168 inches to be exact.

In the closest pole duel in Indianapolis 500 history, Team Penske sent points leader Will Power onto the track with 2 minutes left in the Pole Day shootout – a shrewd move that prevented three Andretti drivers from taking one last shot at the pole and preserving the No. 1 starting spot for Ryan Briscoe.

It was a remarkable finish on a wild afternoon.

Briscoe was the surprise winner with a four-lap average of 226.484 mph. He completed the 10-mile qualification run 0.0023 seconds quicker than James Hinchcliffe. The previous record was set in 1970 when Al Unser edged Johnny Rutherford by 0.01 seconds over the four-lap qualifying run.

This one will go straight into the record book.

How close was the battle on Indy’s historic 2.5-mile oval?

Everybody had an answer. When Hinchcliffe left the post-race news conference, Briscoe held his fingers about an inch apart and explained it was that close.

Hinchcliffe knew better.

“It’s a gust of wind, it’s a shadow over a part of the track,” Hinchcliffe said, before holding up his name card and explaining that was the distance.

“I’m going to lose a little bit of sleep at how small the margin was to Ryan.”

Johnson wins All-Star race

Jimmie Johnson won his third All-Star race on Saturday night by pulling away over the 10-lap sprint to the $1 million prize at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

Johnson won the first 20-lap segment of the Sprint All-Star race, then cruised around the back of the field for the next three segments at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He was the first driver allowed down pit road before the fifth and final segment, and beat everyone else back on track following the mandatory pit stop.

Johnson had a great restart, and runner-up Brad Keselowski had no chance to catch him.

Matt Kenseth finished third and was followed by Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Earnhardt had won the earlier Sprint Showdown to earn a spot in the All-Star race.