MOTORSPORTS Rice continues lucky streak

The Indy 500 winner qualified second for the Bombardier 500.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
FORT WORTH, Texas -- Buddy Rice got his first IndyCar Series win at the Indianapolis 500. But he's always been fast.
Rice finished second in his IRL debut two years ago. He has top-10 finishes in 12 of his 22 races, including all four this season for Rahal-Letterman Racing in the seat of injured driver Kenny Brack.
"To have an opportunity to drive for this team is really cool, to be associated with two other Indy 500 winners and past champions," Rice said. "I'm in some big company and I have a lot to live up to."
So far, he's doing his part.
Rice joined team co-owner Bobby Rahal and Brack as champions at the famed Brickyard last month. He is third in season points at 129, behind Andretti Green teammates Dan Wheldon (158) and Tony Kanaan (157).
Now in the first race since Indianapolis, Rice qualified second for his third front-row start of the season.
Dario Franchitti is on the pole for tonight's Bombardier 500, his first front-row start in the IRL. The top-five spots were Hondas, including his Andretti Green teammates Kanaan third and Bryan Herta fifth.
Wheldon, who like Rice has two poles this season, qualified 12th.
"I have to just try and join them up front as early in the race as I can," Wheldon said.
Terrifying accident
Texas is where Brack suffered multiple fractures last October in a terrifying accident near the end of the IndyCar Series season finale.
Brack got back in a race car for the first time last week, during a test session at Richmond and hopes to race again this season. But he's not part of this weekend's race.
"It's even tougher for Kenny to be sitting out," Rice said. "I know he wants to be here. You will see Kenny come back and he's going to win more races and do the deal. He's pretty strong, and he's going to be pretty fast."
Aerodynamic changes and smaller engines that slowed down speeds at the Brickyard are having the same effect in Texas, where the IRL races for the 14th time since 1997.
Franchitti's pole speed of 209.609 was 13 mph slower than Gil de Ferran eight months ago. The highest practice speeds were in the 210-211 range, more than 10 mph off the pace in the past.
Formula One
MONTREAL -- Michael Schumacher insists the numbers don't mean a thing going into Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix.
Schumacher comes into the event with six wins in seven races this season and six victories in his last 10 races in Montreal, including the last two in a row and three of the last four.
Schumacher, whose only loss this season came last month in Monaco when he collided early in the race with Juan Pablo Montoya, said his Ferrari is no shoe-in on Sunday.
"I think you can trust that we will be competitive, like we usually are," the six-time Formula One champion said. "But I don't expect us to be dominant.
"We really look only at the times. They're not as dominant and the advantage is less than what you think it is. Our strength is that we are strong in general because we have the perfect package. But we're not unbeatable."
Asked what other team could step up if he faltered during the race, Schumacher didn't hesitate.
"If you look at the strength of BAR, I think this circuit should suit them very well," he said.
Top lap
If Friday's free practice at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is any indication, Schumacher could be right.
The German driver did lead everyone with a lap timed at 1 minute, 14.013 seconds, but that came in the one-hour morning session when he and Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello (1:14.291) dominated.
The afternoon session was considerably more competitive, with Japanese rookie Takuma Sato turning the top lap of 1:14.086 in his BAR-Honda, followed by Renault's Fernando Alonso at 1:14.426 and Schumacher at 1:14.535.
Kimi Raikkonen's Mclaren was also quick in the afternoon with a time of 1:14.581, followed by Barrichello's 1:14.705. Jenson Button, Sato's BAR-Honda teammate and the man who Schumacher said could be his toughest rival on Sunday, was eighth in the afternoon at 1:15.152.