CART/IRL Tracy takes pole in Mexico; de Ferran gets first of year

Top drivers said the thin air in Mexico City affected their performances.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEXICO CITY -- Paul Tracy took the provisional pole Friday for the Mexico Grand Prix, adding a point to his narrow lead over Bruno Junqueira in the CART standings.
Driving a Team Forsythe Lola, Tracy clocked an average time of 112.893 mph on the 2.786-mile track.
Junqueira, who was on the pole here last year, was just behind Tracy with a lap time of 1:28.905.
"It's not what I expected, for sure," Junqueira said. "I didn't get any points and Tracy got a point."
Tracy now has a 14-point lead with three races left. Rain is in the forecast for Saturday so it might be difficult to beat Tracy's time.
Sebastian Bourdais, Junqueira's Newman-Haas teammate, qualified third, ahead of Jimmy Vasser and hometown hero Michel Jourdain Jr., who is third in the standings.
The top three provisional qualifiers said they were affected by the thin air at Mexico City's 7,200-foot altitude, which reduces downforce that helps keep cars on the track and also slows throttle response.
A record six Mexican drivers are among the 20 competing in the race, but most had mediocre qualifying sessions.
Jourdain clocked a 112.204 mph average in his Team Rahal Lola. After a win in Miami on Sept. 28, Mario Dominguez had a top lap of 111.576 mph for 11th place, just ahead of Adrian Fernandez at 111.321.
IRL
FORT WORTH, Texas -- Long shot championship contender Gil de Ferran added some extra drama to the five-man IRL title battle Friday night, winning the pole position at Texas Motor Speedway.
De Ferran, who will retire following Sunday's Chevy 500, bounced back from two straight disappointing races by earning the fifth pole of his IRL career and his first front row start of the year.
The Brazilian racer, who earlier this year won the Indianapolis 500, turned a fast lap of 222.865 mph on the 1 1/2-mile Texas oval.
That was barely enough to bump Scott Dixon, deadlocked with Helio Castroneves for the series points lead, to the outside of the front row in the 22-car field.
Dixon had taken the early lead with a lap of 222.856.
Castroneves will start fifth after qualifying at 221.881, while Tony Kanaan, seven points behind the leaders in third, qualified ninth at 220.839. Two-time defending series champion Sam Hornish Jr., 19 points behind Dixon and Castroneves, qualified 12th at 220.443.
De Ferran goes into the 500-kilometer season finale fifth in the standings, trailing Dixon and Marlboro Team Penske teammate Castroneves by 30 points.