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Bell, Fogarty Laguna Seca qualifying
MONTEREY, Calif. (Oct. 13, 2001) - - Townsend Bell, of San Luis Obispo, Calif., displayed championship poise in winning the pole position for Sunday's 11th round of the 12-race Dayton Indy Lights Championship at Laguna Seca Raceway. ...
Edited: Apr 15, 2002, 11:45 PM
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MONTEREY, Calif. (Oct. 13, 2001) - - Townsend Bell, of San Luis Obispo, Calif., displayed championship poise in winning the pole position for Sunday's 11th round of the 12-race Dayton Indy Lights Championship at Laguna Seca Raceway. Bell had been on top of the leader board for every session in the DIRECWAY Lola and final qualifying wasn't an exception when he cruised the 2.238-mile, 11-turn road course with a pole winning time of 1:16.313 (105.576 mph). Of nearly equal importance, Bell earned one more championship bonus point for winning the pole. It was Bell's ninth career Indy Lights pole in 23 career starts, and his seventh pole position in the last eight races. Bell's other pole positions are Milwaukee, Portland, Toronto, Mid-Ohio, St. Louis and Atlanta in 2001; and Portland and St. Louis in 2000. "I'm not looking ahead to next season," said Bell. "Let's be clear. I want to win this race. I have a lot of friends and sponsors visiting this weekend so it makes sense to win for them and me. I've led most of the last two races but had some bad luck. A fuel pump broke at Gateway and then it rained near the end of the race at Atlanta. I certainly would like to win the championship this weekend and finish it." Fogarty, of Portola Valley, Calif., made it "two-for-two" with outside poles in running the second fastest qualifying time of 1:16.640 (105.125 mph). Fogarty also qualified on the outside pole last weekend at Road Atlanta after returning from a five-race lay-off. Fogarty was forced at mid-season to take time off after being diagnosed with an injured disc in his cervical vertebrae. "Before I talk of anything, I have to put out a word of thanks to Dr. Olvey and Dr. Trammel at CART medical," said Fogarty. "They're responsible for getting me back in a car. Their medical care and help through my down time was really important to me and I truly appreciate them. "I understand that Townsend has a championship to win, but I obviously would like to win this race. If Townsend runs this race like he qualified it will probably be his to lose. Regardless, I need to finish and I need a good finish to end the season strong. I feel 110 percent physically. Physical therapy has gone well but there's no greater therapy than being back in a race car." Damien Faulkner, of Moville, Ireland, had been as high as second fastest in practice sessions but struggled a bit in qualifying for a sixth position on the starting grid at 1:17.280 (104.255 mph). Faulkner trails Bell in the championship by 27 points, 150-123. The 34 lap/76.092-mile Indy Lights sprint is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. (PT), Sunday, Oct. 14, and is the featured support race to the Honda Grand Prix for the CART FedEx Championship Series race later that day ESPN2 will provide a delayed telecast of the Laguna Seca Indy Lights race Monday, Oct. 15, from 2:30 a.m. to 3:30 a.m. ET (Sunday, Oct. 14, from 11:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. PT). All times are subject to change.
-Dorricott Racing-
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