IRL NOTEBOOK: CASTRONEVES TOP QUALIFIER.

Byline: Louis Brewster and A.J. Perez Staff Writers

FONTANA - Helio Castroneves will be on the pole for this afternoon's IndyCar Series Toyota Indy 400 at California Speedway and he knows the race will end after 2 miles.

``You will not win the race after the first lap, the 30th lap or even the 50th lap,'' said Castroneves, who claimed the top spot for the race with a top qualifying lap of 33.1067 seconds at 217.479 mph on Saturday. ``The winner is only known after the last lap.''

Castroneves, who won his second consecutive Indy Racing League pole at the Fontana track and third in a row this season, was drawing attention to the recent trend of wild starts in the series.

``We seem to have this issue every way,'' said Castroneves, who has won five times out of the 16 times he's been on the pole. ``It is critical that the drivers have respect for others at the start.

``You can't use the car as a weapon.''

Scott Dixon in the pink Target Chip Ganassi entry is second on the grid with a top lap of 216.301 mph, just a tick better than Sam Hornish Jr., Castroneves' Marlboro Team Penske teammate who has won both IRL races in Fontana. Hornish's speed was 216.062.

Darren Manning qualified fourth fastest at 215.822 on his first lap but hit the wall hard on his second tour of the two-mile speedway. He was transported to Loma Linda University Medical Center and was to be kept overnight. Track officials said late Saturday night that Manning will be re-evaluated this morning. No other information was provided.

Dixon said the afternoon Fontana wind might have played a factor in the crash.

Manning's crash wasn't the only startling development of the day. Points leader Tony Kanaan, who just needs a fifth-place finish or better to wrap up his first IndyCar driving title, did not attempt to qualify and will start at the rear of the 22-car field when the green flag drops at 12:30 p.m.

Kanaan's Andretti Green Racing Dallara suffered a mechanical problem.

--Chesson beats brother: In the Menards Infiniti Pro Series 100, James Chesson led brother P.J. across the finish line and Thiago Medeiros claimed the series championship while parked on the grass at Turn 3.

Medeiros touched wheels with Jeff Simmons on the last lap and flipped backward and then barrel-rolled when his racer hit the grass. He and Simmons were uninjured.

--De Ferran in different role: Pain was the only thing that made Gil De Ferran's last stint at California Speedway memorable.

The 2003 Indy 500 champ concluded last year's race, in which he suffered through back spasms, in 15th place. As he slowly pulled himself from his Team Penske G Force/Toyota, it was apparent that his seventh race in Fontana probably was his least enjoyable.

But it was a relaxed De Ferran wandering the paddock and the pits Saturday in advance of today's Toyota Indy 400. This is the first time since the track opened the 36-year-old Brazilian won't be behind the wheel here.

Instead, he's behind the microphone serving as a TV analyst.