The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. - CART series leader Michel Jourdain Jr. took the provisional pole on a wet Friday at Portland International Raceway.

Jourdain won the pole last week in Monterey, Calif., but it was taken away because his car was underweight. This time, he kept his point and is guaranteed a front-row start in Sunday's G.I. Joe's 200.

Jourdain's lap of 119.339 mph gave him 90 points, seven more than second-place Bruno Junqueira. If Jourdain remains the fastest after final qualifying today, he will have his second pole of the season and his first since April 13 in Long Beach, Calif., also a road course.

"We learned things in Laguna last weekend for these tires," Jourdain said. "Last weekend, when they took the pole position from us, I said: 'Things happen for a reason. Maybe we didn't need to win that race, to not get overconfident.' "

Rookie Ryan Hunter-Reay was second-fastest at 119.289, but his speed was disallowed because his car was underweight. His teammate, 1996 series champion Jimmy Vasser, was moved up to second after turning a lap of 119.267.

"We were optimistic the starting setup would be good, and it is," Vasser said.

"It wasn't wet so much, maybe a little greasy from the track just having gotten rained on and then dried."

If Vasser's time holds up, it will be his best start since winning the pole last year in Long Beach.

Junqueira was seventh, and rookie-points leader Sebastien Bourdais finished 10th. Max Papis, returning to CART after an absence of a year, finished 11th.

Papis won the G.I. Joe's 200 in 2001, but his Sigma Racing team folded before he could defend his title last year. Except for one fill-in race late last season, Papis had been absent from CART.

"It was a tough moment for me last year, not only for me, but for all my guys," Papis said. "It's definitely been a long time since I drove a Champ Car, but I'm a racer and I like challenges, so it's not going to be a problem."