LAS VEGAS - Coming off his first win of the Champ Car season, Patrick Carpentier took his first pole of the year Friday in the first outing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
"We tweaked it a little bit this morning. We thought we needed more speed," said Carpentier, who made a run of 206.186 mph.
Jimmy Vasser made it an all-Las Vegas front row with a speed of 205.495 mph, followed by Tampa's Sebastien Bourdais, the points leader, at 205.323.
The race will be held after tonight's Craftsman Truck event. With the start coming between midnight and 1 a.m., it will be the series' latest race ever.
Champ Car News Manager Eric Mauk said officials did not want to run before the trucks because of the desert heat and the strain on the engines of running flat out for 249 miles.
FORMULA ONE: Drivers began testing the new track in Shaghai for the inaugural Chinese Grand Prix, and Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello found it "amazing" with lots of chances for passing.
Drivers and crews took time to experiment during the first official practice leading to Sunday's race.
Anthony Davidson, the test driver for BAR-Honda, led the way on the 3.388-mile track with times of 1 minute, 35.369 seconds and 1:33.289. Barrichello was seventh in the first practice and fifth in the second.
"I like the track very much and think it's amazing," Barrichello said. "The numbers of corners and different lines into corners make it interesting. It will be tough physically and I think there should be good overtaking possibilities."
NHRA: John Force had a run of 4.78 seconds at 324 mph to top Funny Car qualifying at the O'Reilly Fall Nationals in Dallas. Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel) and Jeg Coughlin (Pro Stock) led their divisions.
