CHAMP CAR Junquiera makes a point with pole

He won the provisional pole and added a point to his slim series lead.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Bruno Junquiera added another point to his very slim series lead over Patrick Carpentier by winning the provisional pole Friday for the Champ Car Grand Prix of Portland.
Junquiera earned one point for his fast lap of 59.266 seconds, at an average speed of 119.603 mph, on the road course at Portland International Raceway.
With the provisional pole, Junquiera upped his series total to 77, two points ahead of Carpentier.
The Brazilian driver is also guaranteed a front-row spot for Sunday's race on the 1.969-mile permanent road course just north of downtown Portland.
Junquiera had his fastest pass on just his third lap, before he started dealing with traffic. He called it quits after six laps.
"I was pretty happy," he said. "I pushed pretty hard on that lap."
Bourdais is second
Junquiera's Newman-Haas Racing teammate Sebastien Bourdais was second best Friday in 59.718 seconds, 118.698 mph.
Paul Tracy overcame engine trouble in practice with a lap in 59.791 seconds, 118.553 mph.
The drivers have a second qualifying session today in preparation for the 94-lap, 186.06-mile race.
Tracy was the pole sitter last year, but Adrian Fernandez took advantage of Tracy's late five-second penalty to earn his eighth and final Champ car victory.
Fernandez left the series for the IRL this March.
Tracy said that after practice he had to replace his engine and make other adjustments, so he didn't expect such a fast qualifying time on his sixth lap.
"It came by surprise a little bit, because the car wasn't the way I want it to be," he said.
Tracy has never won at Portland in 11 starts. The Canadian veteran's best finish in Portland was last year when he was second to Fernandez.
Kept series alive
The series first came to Portland in 1984. Its return this season had been in question when CART declared bankruptcy last season, but team owners Paul Gentilozzi, Gerald Forsythe and Kevin Kalkhoven stepped forward and bought CART's assets in February to keep the series alive.
With no title sponsor for the Portland event, the new Champ Car World Series is spending $3 million to bring the race back to the city.
This weekend's event is the fourth on the series schedule. Young American driver Ryan Hunter-Reay is coming off a dominant pole-to-pole win at the Milwaukee Mile two weeks ago.
Hunter-Reay, currently third in the tight points race with 66, qualified Friday in the seventh spot at 117.949 mph.