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Washed out Rain gives Brack pole based on practice times
BROOKLYN, Mich. (AP) -- The rain that washed away Saturday's qualifying for the Harrah's 500 didn't bother Kenny Brack and Max Papis at all. The Team Rahal teammates were right up front when CART set the 25-car lineup for Sunday's race by reverting to the speeds from Saturday morning's practice session after the rains came as Memo Gidley -- the eighth driver in the qualifying line -- warmed up on Michigan International Speedway's 2-mile oval. "The starting grid is really of no importance," Brack said. "This didn't pay any points and coming out of [turn] 2 tomorrow, it's going to be a traffic jam whoever starts up front." It's the fourth time this season that Brack, the CART series leader, has started from the pole, and the second time he has not been awarded the point that usually goes with the position. With Saturday practice and qualifying both rained out in Milwaukee in June, the lineup was set based on the standings, putting the Swedish driver out front. He also won poles -- and points -- in the more traditional way in Monterrey, Mexico and Fort Worth, Texas.
This time, Brack, who owns an 11-point lead on Michael Andretti and 14 over Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves, was easily the fastest driver on Saturday morning, turning a top lap of 229.812 mph. Papis, driving an almost identical Ford-powered Lola, was next at 228.695, followed by the Toyota-powered Reynards of rookie Tora Takagi and Paul Tracy, whose practice laps were 227.913 and 227.783, respectively. Andretti, coming off a victory last Sunday in Toronto -- his first of the season -- will start 18th after spending the morning session working on his race day setup with his backup car. "I'm a little disappointed that we went on practice times today," Andretti said. "Had it gone on points, we would be in great shape and starting second. This place is all about luck, about getting a tow in practice, which can really affect the practice times. Now it has affected the qualifying grid." Despite his dismay over qualifying, though, where he starts may not be a problem for the two-time Michigan winner and last year's runner-up. Although this will apparently be the last CART race at MIS -- with the rival Indy Racing League scheduled to run here next year -- nearly everyone is expecting another exciting, pass-filled race on Sunday. The last three races have been decided by a total of 0.331 seconds, with the last two winners separated from the runners-up by a mere 0.072 seconds -- less than the time needed to click a camera shutter. In 1998, CART introduced the Handford Device, a blocky aerodynamic piece affixed to the rear wing that cuts a huge hole in the air, saps horsepower from the engines and makes for nearly constant passing throughout the field. There were 62 official lead changes -- at the finish line -- that year. Last July was almost as wild, with 52 official lead changes and 162 overall passes registered at the front of the field. Dario Franchitti, who was slowest in the Saturday practice at 220.453 after struggling with his setup and blowing an engine, would have been fifth if the grid had been decided by season points. "Fortunately, this is a long race and Michigan is as good a place as any to be starting in the last row," Franchitti said. "It's going to be difficult to come through the field, though. We'll just have to have patience and a little bit of luck." CART made a couple of rule changes, including a bigger Handford Device, for this year, slowing the cars by about 10 mph. That could bunch up the field and make the 500-mile event even more competitive.
"Everybody is going to be pretty close to each other and it's going to be very important to keep the switch of the brain on all the time because, if it goes off for a fraction of a second, it can cause a big problem," Papis said. "I just feel that it's going to be a very important to stay sharp, not relax too much, and just do your own race and be respectful of other people." Other than the expected close racing at speeds approaching 220 mph, the biggest hurdle might simply be finishing, considering the stress on both drivers and equipment. "Tomorrow is a very long day and it's truly an engine test to be dragging these wings around," said three-time Michigan winner Bobby Rahal, the principal owner Team Rahal. Among the other favorites coming into the weekend, Marlboro Team Penske teammates Gil de Ferran, the defending series champion, and Castroneves will start 11th and 19th, while Patrick Carpentier, who was fastest (221.777) in the aborted qualifying session, will begin the race from 21st. "It was nice to be on the pole for a while before CART canceled the qualifying," Carpentier said. "I know it's better to start up front, but in a 500-mile race on a superspeedway, you're only going to hold on to your starting position for one lap anyway."
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