NEWS » he Yellow Ribbon was the first start for Fr

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- Scott Dixon has been the man to beat at Watkins Glen International since IndyCar began racing again at the historic road course just over a decade ago. He still is.Fastest in all three practices, Dixon topped the Fast Six on Saturday with a track-record-smashing time of 1 minute, 22.5259 seconds at 147.008 mph to win the pole for the Grand Prix at The Glen. It was Dixons second pole of the season and 25th of his career, tying him with Paul Tracy for 11th all-time, as he eclipsed Ryan Briscoes track record by more than five seconds in a penalty-filled affair.It was hairy, man, Dixon said. There was definitely a lot of chaos during qualifying with people getting pulled back out of the group that they had transferred into.Will Power, second in points to Team Penske teammate Simon Pagenaud, will start second, followed by Sebastien Bourdais, Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, and Max Chilton.Pagenaud failed to make the final six for the first time this season and will start seventh. He leads Power by 28 points with two races left in the season.A year ago, Dixon captured his fourth IndyCar championship in stunning fashion. He won the season finale at Sonoma to snatch the title from Juan Pablo Montoya, overcoming a daunting 47-point deficit. That hes really not in the hunt this time -- Dixon is sixth in the standings, 132 points behind Pagenaud -- isnt so much fun.We had to have a lot of things go our way at Sonoma last year. You dont often see it transpire like that, Dixon said. They (Pagenaud and Power) are a lot closer. Wills starting five spots ahead of Simon, and Wills been a lot quicker all weekend. Its definitely going to go down to the wire. For us, its going to feel real strange.Other things to know about IndyCar qualifying at Watkins Glen International:PENALTIES, PENALTIESGraham Rahal, the winner last week at Texas, was sitting comfortably inside the top six in the first of three rounds of qualifying but was penalized for impeding Jack Hawksworths time and did not advance. He pleaded his case with IndyCar officials on pit road, to no avail.Im very disappointed with the ruling, said Rahal, who will start 20th. We obviously have a fast race car, but were going to have to put our heads down and try to come from behind. There is a lot of work to be done. We will give it all we can to try to come up with good strategy to help us make our way to the front.Russian Mikhail suffered a similar fate. Comfortably in the final six, he was penalized for impeding Montoya and also had his two fastest laps taken away, too, giving Power the break he needed to advance.I did all I could in that situation. I knew he was behind me, Aleshin said. I moved to the right side and then they give me the penalty. Whats going on? They took two fastest laps, which were identical. I think thats not very fair, is it?James Hinchcliffe also was a victim. He initially advanced but lost his fastest lap because he spun and affected the progress of Power during the first session, allowing Aleshin to go on to the next round.RED OR BLACKTeams struggled to find the right balance with both the red and black tires on the newly paved surface at The Glen. The red compound is softer, grippier and usually faster, but on this day the harder compound in the blacks proved the better choice.Bourdais proved it with his top qualifying result of the season, but fellow Frenchman Pagenaud did not.I dont know what happened, Pagenaud said. Im trying to understand how we can go faster. We just missed it. It happens. Weve been struggling with speed. Its a new track and youve got to get used to it. Theres a very, very high commitment. Im pretty happy with where we are now. I think we can go racing.FRIENDLY REMINDERPower starts alongside Dixon on the front row, with Pagenaud three rows further back, and starts at Watkins Glen can be disastrous as drivers get aggressive trying to make passes when the green flag waves. Jeff Gordon won the pole here in 2003 for the NASCAR Cup race, was wrecked on the first turn of the race by Greg Biffle, and finished 33rd.Dixon said hed remind Power about whats at stake.Ill definitely remind Will before the race that hes got a lot more to lose than I have, Dixon said with a smile. You know, I think you can see that Will has evolved a lot, I think, as a driver, especially this championship.It was funny, we chatted at Road America about the runaway championship that Simon was having, and I was like, `You wait, man, its going to flip. One of us will be in the chase again to try and hunt him down.---AP Auto Racing Web Site: www.autoracing.ap.org Salomon Ofertas . The defending champion beat Gael Monfils of France 7-6 (6), 6-3, while second-seeded Andy Murray of Britain dispatched Edouard Roger-Vasselin, also of France, 6-3, 6-3. Making his first appearance since injuring his wrist a month ago, Del Potro had difficulty with his service games in the first set. Salomon Outlet Online . -- San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks was fined $15,570 by the NFL on Wednesday for his hit on Saints quarterback Drew Brees last Sunday. http://www.salomonbaratasespana.es/ . Down by seven with 90 seconds left in regulation, thats where they looked comfortable. Zapatillas Salomon España . A statement from the worlds top-ranked player says all checks "were satisfactory and showed positive evolution" regarding the injury, which contributed to his loss to Stanislas Wawrinka in the final in Melbourne. Salomon Baratas . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. DEL MAR, Calif. - Everything came together for Shes Not Here late on Saturday afternoon.An hour before the $201,035 Yellow Ribbon Stakes at Del Mar, jockey Drayden Van Dyke and trainer Phil Oliver had a phone conversation about the best way for Van Dyke to ride Shes Not Here in the Grade 2 turf race for fillies and mares at 1-1/16 miles.He said, Let her break and get fourth or fifth, get her to relax, and shell give you a kick, Van Dyke said.The tactics proved ideal when Shes Not Here closed from fourth in a field of eight to win the Yellow Ribbon for the second consecutive year.It went perfect, Van Dyke said.Shes Not Here ($20.40) was timed in 1:42.70. The win ended a five-race losing streak, all in graded stakes in California, Illinois, and Kentucky, since the 2015 Yellow Ribbon for Shes Not Here.During that span, Shes Not Here kept good company. She was seventh behind Tepin in the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley Stakes at Keeneland in April, and sixth behind that mare in the Grade 2 Distaff Turf Mile at Churchill Downs on May 7. Tepin won the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot last month.Shes Not Here, who races for Ian Banwell and G. Watts Humphrey Jr., was the sixth choice in the Yellow Ribbon. Van Dyke had her in fourth on the backstretch, following pacesetter Her Emmynency, who set a modest pace of 24.dddddddddddd21 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 48.74 for a half-mile.Shes Not Here took the lead before the eighth pole, and finished a neck in front of 18-1 Fresh Feline. The Yellow Ribbon was the first start for Fresh Feline since a third-place finish in the Grade 2 Santa Ana Stakes at Santa Anita in late March. The narrow loss was frustrating for Victor Espinoza.She ran super and shed been off for a while, Espinoza said of Fresh Feline. Maybe with a couple more jumps I could have gotten there.Nancy From Nairobi, the 2-1 favorite, closed from last to finish third, followed by Finest City, Queen of the Sand, Keri Belle, Prize Exhibit, and Her Emmynency.Her Emmynency tailed off in the stretch when beaten, a loss that left owner Ike Thrash stunned. Her Emmynency won the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland last October.She was going easy and when they came to her, she shut down, Thrash said. I dont what that was. That was the opposite of what I expected.Shes Not Here, a 5-year-old mare by Street Cry, has won 6 of 22 starts and earned $403,903. The two wins in the Yellow Ribbon Stakes are the only graded stakes victories for Shes Not Here. ' ' '