| | Associated Press
CICERO, Ill. -- Juan Montoya, who struggled with bad luck
and mechanical failures through most of the first half of the CART season, is suddenly the hottest driver on the Champ car circuit
again.
Coming off an exhilarating victory last Sunday in the Michigan
500 -- a race in which he and series points leader Michael Andretti
dueled to the end at speeds up to 225 mph -- the 24-year-old Montoya led another
speed assault Saturday at Chicago Motor Speedway.
|  | | Juan Montoya pulls into the pits after turning a track-record qualifying lap of 167.567 mph at Chicago Motor Speedway. |
The defending series champion, whose victory last year in the
inaugural Target Grand Prix was among seven wins in 1999, was the
fastest of 17 drivers who surpassed the track qualifying record of
162.559 mph, set by Max Papis last August.
Montoya, who was fastest in practice, was last in the qualifying
line on the 1.029-mile oval and did not disappoint, driving his
Toyota-powered Lola to a lap of 167.567 and earning his
series-leading fifth pole of the season.
"The year has been pretty up and down," said Montoya, who also
won a CART event on the one-mile oval in Milwaukee the week after
taking the rival Indy Racing League's Indianapolis 500 on May 28.
"Being on the pole here really pumps us up."
Montoya is not among those who have complained about CART's new
aerodynamic rear wing making the cars hard to balance and causing
considerable turbulence when driven near other cars.
"I like the wing," he said. "It they could make them more
efficient so you could drive behind other cars, it would be
great."
Helio Castroneves took the other front-row position with a lap
of 167.370 and explained the jump in speeds by saying, "We're
getting more downforce from the new wing, and we've been faster on
every other track."
The wing configuration, combined with the fact that the track is
what the drivers call a one-groove oval, is expected to put a
premium on passing Sunday, but Montoya said it can be done.
"Last year in practice, there was little passing," he said.
"But, in the race, people passed when they had to. I think it will
be the same this time. There's more grip this year, so maybe
tomorrow, while the race is on, the racing groove will get a little
wider."
Tony Kanaan, still hampered by a cast on the left forearm he
broke in crash last month in Detroit, was fast enough to take the
third spot in the 24-car field at 167.340, followed by Kenny Brack
at 166.602, Cristiano da Matta at 166.266, Papis at 165.541 and
Paul Tracy at 165.419.
Andretti, who leads Roberto Moreno in the standings by 14
points, has had a disappointing weekend so far, running much slower
than expected in Friday's practice and qualifying 15th Saturday
at 163.477.
"The only good news is that's the fastest I've gone around this
place," the 1991 series champ said. "I don't know what the
problem was, but hopefully we can get it good in the race."
Moreno, who has dropped out of the series lead by failing to
score points in the last two races, wound up 13th at 164.100.
The irrepressible Moreno, the oldest driver in the open-wheel
series at 41, said, "The Patrick Racing crew has worked very hard
on the gearbox and I think we have the solution to prevent the
problems we have experienced in the last two races. I think we
should be competitive tomorrow."
Montoya started 10th last year, but was able to work his way to
the front by the 64th of 225 laps. He wound up dominating the race,
leading 132 laps.
Asked to assess how starting up front will affect his race this
year, Montoya grinned and said, "This just means my car was better
on Saturday than it was last year."
But the pole was worth one point and starting up front could
easily translate into another victory and 20 more points for
Montoya, who moved into a tie for fourth with Gil de Ferran and
trails Andretti by 29.
"We've been lucky to stay this close with everything that's
happened," Montoya said. "We just need some consistency and to
get some serious points." | |
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AUDIO/VIDEO
 Juan Montoya takes the pole for the Target Grand Prix of Chicago.
avi: 1183 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Juan Montoya talks with RPM 2Night's Whit Watson about winning the pole position.
RealVideo: 28.8
Helio Castroneves beats Tony Kanaan's time to capture the pole for the moment.
avi: 1589 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Juan Montoya is happy with the pole and the point.
wav: 128 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Helio Castroneves did not have enough to win the pole on Saturday.
wav: 68 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Tony Kanaan reacts to losing the pole.
wav: 233 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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