CHAMPCAR/CART: Detroit Team KOOL Green Qualifying Report

TRACY STARTING FROM THE FRONT ROW AND FRANCHITTI FROM ROW TWO

CART FedEx Championship Series - FINAL QUALIFYING Round 13 of 20 - DETROIT GRAND PRIX

DETROIT, Mich., - Team KOOL Green's Paul Tracy will start from the front row, while his teammate Dario Franchitti will line-up from row two in tomorrow's 75-lap Tenneco Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Juan Montoya won his fifth pole position of the season, taking all 14 turns on the 2.364-mile street circuit at Belle Isle in 1:13.585 seconds (114.773 mph). Montoya edged Tracy, who was second quick with a final rip around the track of 1:13.611 seconds (114.733 mph). Tracy rewarded himself with his first front-row start on a street course since qualifying second at Australia in 1997.

Gil de Ferran and Franchitti will line-up together in row two. De Ferran will start third following his qualifying run of 1:13.789 seconds (114.456 mph), while Franchitti is fourth on the grid after a lap of 1:13.792 seconds (114.451 mph).

Tomorrow's schedule has the 27-car field back on track for warm-up at 11:00 a.m. ET. Sunday's race will be broadcast via tape-delay on ABC-TV at 4:00 p.m.

PAUL TRACY, #26 TEAM KOOL GREEN HONDA/REYNARD/FIRESTONE: (2nd with a lap-time of 1:13.611 seconds / 114.733 mph)

"I did two warm-up laps and then really went for it on laps three and four. Unfortunately, I made a mistake on both of those laps in Turns 1 & 2. I was sliding the KOOL car around. My fifth lap, I took it easy and cooled the car down. Sixth, I tried to go for it again; made another mistake. I just got it all together on my last lap. But it was a bit of a compromise. I had to be less aggressive because the tires were no longer at their best. I didn't catch the Firestone tires at the right moment. We were close to getting the pole on the sixth or seventh lap, which isn't optimal. I just backed off a notch and you've got to give it all to get pole.

"We're happy though. This is a great starting position for us. On the start, I want to slot in first or second if I can. If Montoya gets a jump then that 's fine. I'm here to get points. We've got to win the race on the last lap, not the first one."

DARIO FRANCHITTI, #27 TEAM KOOL GREEN HONDA/REYNARD/FIRESTONE: (4th with a lap-time of 1:13.792 seconds / 114.451 mph)

"The lack of track time yesterday certainly hurt us. I've been playing catch-up really. I learn something new about the track every time I go out there. At the start of qualifying, we were working on the setup and the KOOL car felt pretty good. I was just finding my limit each time out trying to keep it inside the barriers, but go that much quicker. I think we were punished a little bit by being in the slower group. There's a lot more traffic and the track is not as fast. The track is usually faster as the day goes on.

"I'm thrilled to be starting fourth. It's nice to have a good starting spot because you can stay out of trouble in Turn 1. I don't mind passing a few people and having to fight to move up to the front."