It's home sweet home
for Team Player's as Native son Paul Tracy wins the pole at Molson Indy Toronto Paul
Tracy of Team Player's became only the second Canadian driver to win the pole
at Molson Indy Toronto on Saturday, delighting a partisan crowd by touring the
1.755-mile street circuit a half-second faster than closest rival Bruno
Junqueira. In taking the pole, Tracy, who grew up in the shadows of the Molson
Indy Toronto racing venue, duplicated a feat achieved by former Team Player's
driver Jacques Villeneuve in 1995. Tracy's pole capped an impressive day of qualifying by
Canadian drivers in their "homecoming" race - the first of three on the
Champ Car World Series schedule. The three Canadians in the series - Tracy,
Alex Tagliani and Tracy's teammate Patrick Carpentier will respectively start
Sunday's 112-lap race from the first, fourth and fifth position on the grid. Junqueira, the Brazilian driver who had won the
provisional pole on Friday, will start alongside Tracy on the front row. The
extra point for the pole - Tracy's third of the season and 15th
of his career - restored Tracy's lead over Junqueira in the driver's
championship to eight points (118-110). Tracy has qualified on the front row in
seven of the 10 races thus far. "This
is a monumental achievement for Team Player's, to be on the pole in its last
appearance here in Toronto," said Tracy, the only Canadian driver to win
Molson Indy Toronto, a feat he accomplished in 1993. "I'm glad we were able
to get the job done. It's just a great day." Entering the day, the time to beat was the 59.332 seconds clocked by Junqueira in provisional qualifying. Tracy came within a tenth of that time on his first stint on Saturday, and then played the unpredictable weather to perfection, returning to the track as it was drying out and putting down a monstrous quick lap of 58.839 seconds (107.378 mph / 172.808 km/h). Junqueira waited until the final 10 minutes of the session to use his laps, but his best tour of the track was in 59.332 seconds.
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