Boesel takes the Pole for the Motorola 300

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Boesel takes the Pole for the Motorola 300
©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc.
Tracy shares front row and quicker in practice
CART Online (May 23) -- Raul Boesel broke a three-year dry spell Friday afternoon when he claimed the pole position for Saturday's Motorola 300 at the new Gateway International Raceway.
Boesel guided his Brahma Reynard Ford to a fast lap of 187.963 miles per hour on the new 1.27-mile Gateway oval, earning the right to lead 26 other drivers to the green flag at 12:15 p.m. CDT (1:15 p.m. EDT, live, ABC-TV) for Round 6 of the PPG CART World Series. The pole is the third of Boesel's career and his first since June 4, 1994 at The Milwaukee Mile, site of his only two previous pole positions.
Boesel earned the $10,000 Marlboro Pole Award for his effort, and stands to gain an additional $30,000 with a win in Saturday's 236-lap, 300-mile event.
"We've tested well in Milwaukee and we raced well at Nazareth," said Boesel, who makes his best PPG CART World Series start since a second at New Hampshire in 1994. "That was a good starting point for a setup here."
"I enjoy ovals. When you have a good car, it gives you confidence going into the corners. It's very enjoyable [to drive]. It has been hard for myself the last two years. This [pole position] is good to help restore my reputation."
Starting alongside Boesel on the outside pole will be Paul Tracy (Marlboro Penske Mercedes), who averaged 187.739 mph on his quickest circuit of the track. Tracy, winner of the past two PPG CART World Series events at Nazareth, Pa. and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is bidding to become the driver to win three consecutive events since Al Unser of Marlboro Team Penske turned the triple at Mid-Ohio, New Hampshire and Vancouver during his PPG Cup winning season of 1994.
"I'm not reall;y surprised," Tracy said of Boesel's performance. "I knew Raul was quick this [Friday] morning. There's more potential in the car; we weren't able to utilize it. But that's qualifying. You roll the dice and you go.
"It would have been nice to get the point for the pole, but the front row is nice, and it's still a long race."
Tracy leads Scott Pruett (Brahma Reynard Ford), 65-61 in the PPG Cup race entering Saturday's sixth of 17 rounds. Pruett qualified 17th Friday, averaging 183.019 mph.
Mauricio Gugelmin (Hollywood PacWest Mercedes) qualified third, extending his streak of top-10 qualifying efforts to nine, including the past five out of six in the top five.
"We did a great job in terms of getting the car in a good balance," said Gugelmin, who claimed his first career pole position May 10 at the Hollywood Rio 400. "My qualifying run lacked a little bit in terms of speed, but I feel very good going into the race tomorrow."
"This course is so fast, your eyeballs get stuck to the side of the car. Not only do we have to get used to that, but think about [the stress on] our equipment for 300 miles."
ESPN2's "On The Grid" program airs at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, one-half hour prior to ABC-TV's race telecast. The Motorola 300 will also air live on the CART Radio Network to more than 140 stations across the United States.
The Motorola 300 is the first of three consecutive race weekends in the PPG CART World Series. The series continues with the Miller 200, June 1 at The Milwaukee Mile.
Source: CART News Service


		JUST RELEASED! — The Official Directory for CART Racing

		Boesel takes the Pole for the Motorola 300 ©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc. Tracy shares front row and quicker in practice CART Online (May 23) -- Raul Boesel broke a three-year dry spell Friday afternoon when he claimed the pole position for Saturday's Motorola 300 at the new Gateway International Raceway. Boesel guided his Brahma Reynard Ford to a fast lap of 187.963 miles per hour on the new 1.27-mile Gateway oval, earning the right to lead 26 other drivers to the green flag at 12:15 p.m. CDT (1:15 p.m. EDT, live, ABC-TV) for Round 6 of the PPG CART World Series. The pole is the third of Boesel's career and his first since June 4, 1994 at The Milwaukee Mile, site of his only two previous pole positions. Boesel earned the $10,000 Marlboro Pole Award for his effort, and stands to gain an additional $30,000 with a win in Saturday's 236-lap, 300-mile event. "We've tested well in Milwaukee and we raced well at Nazareth," said Boesel, who makes his best PPG CART World Series start since a second at New Hampshire in 1994. "That was a good starting point for a setup here." "I enjoy ovals. When you have a good car, it gives you confidence going into the corners. It's very enjoyable [to drive]. It has been hard for myself the last two years. This [pole position] is good to help restore my reputation." Starting alongside Boesel on the outside pole will be Paul Tracy (Marlboro Penske Mercedes), who averaged 187.739 mph on his quickest circuit of the track. Tracy, winner of the past two PPG CART World Series events at Nazareth, Pa. and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is bidding to become the driver to win three consecutive events since Al Unser of Marlboro Team Penske turned the triple at Mid-Ohio, New Hampshire and Vancouver during his PPG Cup winning season of 1994. "I'm not reall;y surprised," Tracy said of Boesel's performance. "I knew Raul was quick this [Friday] morning. There's more potential in the car; we weren't able to utilize it. But that's qualifying. You roll the dice and you go. "It would have been nice to get the point for the pole, but the front row is nice, and it's still a long race." Tracy leads Scott Pruett (Brahma Reynard Ford), 65-61 in the PPG Cup race entering Saturday's sixth of 17 rounds. Pruett qualified 17th Friday, averaging 183.019 mph. Mauricio Gugelmin (Hollywood PacWest Mercedes) qualified third, extending his streak of top-10 qualifying efforts to nine, including the past five out of six in the top five. "We did a great job in terms of getting the car in a good balance," said Gugelmin, who claimed his first career pole position May 10 at the Hollywood Rio 400. "My qualifying run lacked a little bit in terms of speed, but I feel very good going into the race tomorrow." "This course is so fast, your eyeballs get stuck to the side of the car. Not only do we have to get used to that, but think about [the stress on] our equipment for 300 miles." ESPN2's "On The Grid" program airs at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, one-half hour prior to ABC-TV's race telecast. The Motorola 300 will also air live on the CART Radio Network to more than 140 stations across the United States. The Motorola 300 is the first of three consecutive race weekends in the PPG CART World Series. The series continues with the Miller 200, June 1 at The Milwaukee Mile. Source: CART News Service