On the good side of the ledger is the fact that since the first open wheel event at MIS in 1968, a total of 17 drivers who started from the pole ended up winning.

On the bad side of the ledger, as far as Franchitti is concerned, is that none of the top five drivers in the IndyCar point standings have won an IndyCar race at Michigan, and Franchitti, has led the point standings since his Indy 500 victory last May.

But following his second pole start of the season, his seventh straight top-five start and 10th this season it's not about the past. It's about the future, starting today.

"We came back during the break (between two practice sessions) made some changes, went back out and we gained quite a lot of speed," Franchitti said. "I was really happy with the race car. I could run where I wanted to, had good pace and felt comfortable through the whole tank of fuel. There's definitely an open-wheel, hard core group of fans that come to this race. Whether it was in Champ Car or since I've been here in IndyCar, I don't know of many places where we put on a better show than we do here."

Franchitti's speed of 218.308 mph edged Sam Hornish, Jr., who was second fastest at 218.024. Hornish's Penske Racing teammate and defending race champion Helio Castroneves was third quickest. Danica Patrick qualified ninth fastest.

"We weren't sure how fast we would go for qualifying," Hornish said. "We messed up the gears a bit, which was unfortunate for us, but we found the speed we need for tomorrow so I guess it was good that we did our little experiment for qualifying. "There's definitely a lot of room to run out there," Hornish continued. "The cars have a lot of grip and no matter where you run there's a lot of opportunities here. The track has been as good as it has ever been. I think this is one of the better shows that we put on all year. It's a place that provides a lot of opportunities for passing and a lot of side-by-side racing as well."

The Firestone Indy 400 will begin at Noon on Sunday (ESPN2).