Detroit Qualifying

GENTILOZZI ON POLE FOR DETROIT JOHNSON CONTROLS 100 NTB TRANS-AM RACE

DETROIT, Mich. (June 5, 1998) – Paul Gentilozzi, driving the No. 3 AutoLink Chevrolet Corvette, posted the fastest time in qualifying to start on the pole for Saturday's 42-lap, 98.532-mile Johnson Controls 100 NTB National Tire & Battery Trans-Am Series race at Belle Isle, Detroit, Mich.

Gentilozzi, of Lansing, Mich., posted a quick lap of 1:32.643 (91.162 mph) to claim his sixth career pole, with his teammate Bill Saunders, in the No. 8 AutoLink Corvette, starting on the outside-pole after qualifying second-fastest with a time of 1:33.346 (90.476 mph).

"It was very, very difficult in qualifying today," said Gentilozzi. "We were just pecking around trying to get a clean lap. It's really a tremendous honor to be on the pole for the first Johnson Controls 100."

Qualifying third was Michael Lewis, in the No. 12 Red Line Oil Ford Mustang Cobra, followed by his teammate Ross Thompson, in the No. 92 i-Dream Software Mustang Cobra, who made his first series appearance in the Fast Five. John Miller IV rounds out the Fast Five qualifiers and will start his No. 64 PLC Direct Camaro fifth.

"Everything I'd heard about the Detroit circuit had changed with the new configuration this year," said Thompson, who is a professional driving instructor at the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving. "I'm a quick learner and I was able to get some help from Mike (Lewis) – I'm tickled to death to just be part of the Fast Five."

The Johnson Controls 100 will be televised with next-day coverage on TNN-The Nashville Network, beginning Sunday, June 7 at 3:00 p.m. EDT.

JT Tunnicliff

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