CART: Franchitti Wins Rio 400 Pole in Track Record Fashion

9 May 1998

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL: Dario Franchitti of Team KOOL Green established a new Emerson Fittipaldi Speedway track record Saturday while grabbing the pole position for Sunday's Rio 400 at Nelson Piquet International Raceway.

Franchitti averaged a record 172.039 mph on the 1.864 mile oval to earn the right to lead 28 drivers to the green flag at noon ET Sunday. The 400-kilometer (248 mile) race will be televised on tape delay by ABC-TV, beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET.

While earning his second career pole position and first on an oval, Franchitti broke the track qualifying record of 171.921 mph set by Mauricio Gugelmin en route to his first FedEx Championship Series career pole last year. Franchitti's previous pole position came on a temporary street circuit at Toronto last year.

Several drivers struggled with Turn 4 on the D-shaped oval, most notably Al Unser Jr. who starts 27th after crashing during qualifying for the first time in his recollection. Franchitti, however, said he encountered little difficulty en route to the pole. It was the first for Barry Green-owned car since Jacques Villeneuve's at Laguna Seca in 1995.

"Basically, Paul Tracy came up after his qualifying run and said the track wasn't as bad as it appeared on TV," Franchitti said. "We were going to make some adjustments to the car, but he said there was no need. The car felt very, very good this morning during practice. I came in and said, There's more time there.' I'm surprised these other guys didn't go faster, to be honest."

PPG Cup points leader Greg Moore qualified seventh at 170.779 mph. He completed only one of his allotted two qualifying laps before spinning on his second circuit. He was uninjured in the incident.

Rio 400 Lineup:

1. (27) Dario Franchitti, Scotland, Reynard-Honda, 172.039.
2. (1) Alex Zanardi, Italy, Reynard-Honda, 171.341.
3. (21) Tony Kanaan, Brazil, Reynard-Honda, 171.289.
4. (5) Gil de Ferran, Brazil, Reynard-Honda, 171.284.
5. (11) Christian Fittipaldi, Brazil, Swift-Ford, 171.166.
6. (8) Bryan Herta, New Albany, Ohio, Reynard-Ford, 170.944.
7. (99) Greg Moore, Canada, Reynard-Mercedes, 170.779.
8. (6) Michael Andretti, Nazareth, Pa., Swift-Ford, 170.492.
9. (26) Paul Tracy, Canada, Reynard-Honda, 169.983.
10. (7) Bobby Rahal, New Albany, Ohio, Reynard-Ford, 169.931.
11. (16) Helio Castro-Neves, Brazil, Reynard-Mercedes, 169.480.
12. (40) Adrian Fernandez, Mexico, Reynard-Ford, 168.734.
13. (12) Jimmy Vasser, Las Vegas, Reynard-Honda, 168.510.
14. (34) Gualter Salles, Brazil, Reynard-Ford, 168.054.
15. (20) Scott Pruett, Granite Bay, Calif., Reynard-Ford, 167.840.
16. (3) Andre Ribeiro, Brazil, Penske-Mercedes, 167.517.
17. (33) Patrick Carpentier, Canada, Reynard-Mercedes, 167.025.
18. (18) Mark Blundell, England ,Reynard-Mercedes, 166.946.
19. (77) Arnd Meier, Germany, Lola-Ford, 166.755.
20. (25) Max Papis, Italy, Reynard-Toyota, 166.495.
21. (17) Mauricio Gugelmin, Brazil, Reynard-Mercedes, 166.120.
22. (9) J.J. Letho, Finland, Reynard-Mercedes, 165.963.
23. (98) P.J. Jones, Rolling Hills, Calif, Reynard-Toyota, 164.133.
24. (36) Alex Baron, Vista, Calif., Reynard-Toyota, 163.960.
25. (19) Michel Jourdain Jr., Mexico, Reynard-Ford, 163.664.
26. (24) Hiro Matsushita, Japan, Reynard-Toyota, 163.036.
27. (2) Al Unser Jr., Albuquerque, N.M., Penske-Mercedes, no speed.
28. (10) Richie Hearn, Henderson, Nev., Swift-Ford, no speed.