Saturday, August 10, 2002
Rudd's out with Yates but on Watkins Glen pole
Red flag helps Carpentier to CART top spot
The Associated Press
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. - Ricky Rudd didn't let the distraction of his impending departure from his team slow him down Friday. He won the pole at Watkins Glen International.
For him, there are no lingering questions about 2003, which he says is enabling him to concentrate more on strong finish this year.
“The one thing we do know is there's not a place for me at Robert Yates Racing next year, so we're going to move on,” Rudd said. “There's a lot strings attached to where we're going and I think we'll make an announcement in about a week.”
Rudd said his pole for Sunday's Winston Cup race proves that the differences he has had with Yates and crew chief Michael “Fatback” McSwain can be put aside at the race track. But Rudd said his first pole on the track was no certainty.
“We were a little off in practice, but I think the track came to us,” Rudd said after turning a lap at 122.696 mph in a Ford.
Michael Waltrip qualified second in a Chevrolet at 122.635. Tony Stewart, placed on probation for the rest of the season earlier this week after an altercation with a photographer last weekend at the Brickyard 400, was third in a Pontiac at 122.485.
“I've got a lot of personal issues, but the team has worked hard and deserves a victory,” Stewart said.
Rudd said a change in air pressure before qualifying improved his run around the 2.45-mile road course. Sunday, Rudd will try for his third career victory at the track.
Two months ago, driving the same Ford, he won for the second time in his career on NASCAR's other road course, at Sonoma, Calif. Rudd won twice on the defunct road course in Riverside, Calif., and a victory here Sunday would let him match defending race champion Jeff Gordon's Winston Cup record of seven road-course wins.
“After I made my run, I was a little disappointed because the car drove so well,” Rudd said. “Then they came on the radio and told me I won the pole.”
Waltrip had only one flaw in his run on the slick track.
“I made a big mistake in the ("S' curves) and got sideways and had to back off the gas,” he said.
Qualifying fourth was Bill Elliott, who has won the previous two races and has started 1-1-2-4 in his last four. His Dodge got around the track 122.425.
Rookie Ryan Newman was next in a Ford at 122.401.
Jeff Gordon, the defending race champion, will begin his quest for a fifth Glen victory in six years from the 23rd spot on the grid. Dale Jarrett, who set the track record of 122.698 last year, will start 17th.
CART: A late red flag helped Patrick Carpentier win the provisional pole for the CART Mid-Ohio Grand Prix at Lexington, Ohio.
Carpentier posted a fast lap of 121.253 mph with about 90 seconds to go in the one-hour qualifying session when Tony Kanaan and Toro Takagi both spun out. Kanaan was able to continue, but Takagi lost power, bringing out both the red flag and the checkered flag ending the session.
Carpentier gained one point for being the fastest first-day qualifier and earned a guaranteed front-row spot for Sunday's race. With 73 points, he is fourth in the driver standings, one point behind Bruno Junquiera and Michel Jourdain Jr., who are tied for third.
Carpentier hasn't started on the pole in four years. His fast lap Friday was more than 3 mph slower than the track record held by Dario Franchitti and Gil de Ferran.
Carpentier learned quickly that he had benefited from Takagi's spin.
“You need to catch a little bit of a break sometimes,” he said. “I crossed the line (after his fast lap) and my team came on the radio and said, "P1 (position one), P1.' Right after that, I heard, "Red flag, red flag.' I immediately asked my crew if I was still P1 and they said yes.”
Cristiano da Matta was second, followed by Newman-Haas Racing teammate Christian Fittipaldi.
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Rudd's out with Yates but on Watkins Glen pole
