SBRS: Mid-Ohio Barber Dodge Friday Qualifying

LEXINGTON, Ohio (Aug. 13) - Out of almost 100 drivers in four different racing series, Peter Boss was far and away the most thrilled person at the Mid-Ohio Sportscar Course to see rain pass the first round of Barber Dodge Pro Series qualifying.

Well, there might have been 25 mechanics facing the prospect of another tire change equally pleased. Boss got in an early groove and used a quick lap of 1:24.541 at 96.152 mph to snare the provisional pole for Sunday's Barber Dodge Pro Series race at the CART Miller Lite 200. It was the first time the Narragansett, R.I. native has topped the qualifying chart.

"I think it was 'get the new tires rolling, get them working and don't kill them'," Boss said of his qualifying plan. "I've put in a lot of laps here and feel comfortable. The (strategy) is to really go after the track and attack it."

Todd Snyder of Sheffield, Mass. remained on target for his seventh-straight top-five grid spot by posting the second-fastest time (1:24.578/96.110 mph). Nilton Rossoni of Curitiba, Brazil, second in the championship points, put up the third-best time (1:24.614/96.069 mph) while current points leader Jeff Simmons of East Granby, Conn. was fourth (1:24.821/95.835 mph).

The day did not get off to a promising start, as overnight thunderstorms and a driving rain forced the first practice session to be run on wet-weather Michelin Pilot SX tires. But a break in the cloud cover allowed the sun to dry out the track for the 1 p.m. session and returned the car setup to racing slicks. Another burst of threatening clouds moved in later in the day setting off a series of sprinkles for the CART Champ Car qualifying. The variable conditions and a mixed forecast for Saturday's final qualifying placed a premium on a strong performance in Friday's session.

"I don't think that it's going to, but if it rains tomorrow, then it makes today quite important," Snyder said. "It depends on if it's hotter or more humid. This might have been the fastest session, but if it doesn't rain and more rubber gets laid down, the track might get a little faster."

Townsend Bell of Costa Mesa, Calif. (1:24.882/95.766 mph) was fifth quickest, followed by Michael Valiante of Vancouver, B.C. (1:24.995/95.639 mph), who is looking to recapture the lead in the rookie of the year chase from Matt Plumb. Jamie Menninga of Pella, Iowa (1:25.134/95.482 mph) followed up his career-best third at Detroit last week with the seventh-best qualifying effort. Iradj Alexander of Switzerland (1:25.272/95.328 mph), the Netherlands' Sepp Koster (1:25.456/95.123 mph) and Roger Yasukawa of Santa Monica, Calif. (1:25.498/95.076 mph) filled the remainder of the top 10, which was separated by less than a second.

Boss, the younger brother of PPG-Dayton Indy Lights stars Geoff and Andy Boss, plans to maintain the momentum through Sunday's 40-minute race. "Andy won here in his last year of Barber Dodge, so I think I'll try to put a win in here and follow his path," Peter Boss said.

#LEXINGTON, Ohio - Barber Dodge Pro Series first session qualifying results from the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Friday on the 2.258-mile, 16-turn road circuit for Sunday's 40-minute race at the CART Miller Lite 200. Drivers are classified by position, car number, name/hometown and time/speed.

1       (6)     Peter Boss/Narragansett, R.I.           1:24.541/96.152
2       (11)    Todd Snyder/Sheffield, Mass.            1:24.578/96.110
3       (36)    Nilton Rossoni/Curitiba, Brazil         1:24.614/96.069
4       (1)     Jeff Simmons/East Granby, Conn.         1:24.821/95.835
5       (25)    Townsend Bell/Costa Mesa, Calif.        1:24.882/95.766
6       (95)    Michael Valiante/Vancouver,Canada       1:24.995/95.639
7       (2)     Jamie Menninga/Pella, Iowa              1:25.134/95.482
8       (31)    Iradj Alexander/Giubiasco,Switzerland   1:25.272/95.328
9       (7)     Sepp Koster/The Netherlands             1:25.456/95.123
10      (8)     Roger Yasukawa/Santa Monica, Calif.     1:25.498/95.076
11      (9)     Rodrigo Bernardes/Sao Paulo, Brazil     1:25.727/94.822
12      (14)    Juan Jose Font/Caracas,Venezuela        1:25.757/94.789
13      (85)    Brian Pelke/Lansing, Ill.               1:25.783/94.760
14      (12)    Vanderlan Junior/Goiania, Brazil        1:25.825/94.714
15      (52)    Jon Fogarty/Portola Valley, Calif.      1:25.840/94.697
16      (16)   Alexandre Sperafico/ToledoParana, Brazil 1:25.988/94.534
17      (13)    R. B. Stiewing/Lime Rock, Conn.         1:26.071/94.443
18      (4)     Brent Sherman/ Northbrook, Ill.         1:26.229/94.270
19      (17)    Matt Plumb/Unionville, Pa.              1:26.271/94.224
20      (3)     Kip Gulseth/Manitowac, Wisc.            1:26.622/93.842
21      (26)    Rhonda Trammell/Pittsboro, Ind.         1:27.237/93.181
22      (77)    Scott Mayer/Franklin, Wis.              1:28.078/92.291