Brack wins CART pole

COLBY, England, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Kenny Brack captured the pole Friday at the CART Rockingham 500 for the second straight year.

Brack set a track record with an average of 213.763 miles per hour as his Toyota-Lola zipped around the 1.479-mile oval at Rockingham Motor Speedway in 24.908 seconds.

"Running on this track is like playing a video game," Brack said. "It's fun, but there's no reset button here. You have to be careful that you don't make a mistake. It's a fast, tight oval with four different corners.

"I'm very happy with winning my first pole with Team Target. This is my fifth oval race with this team and we are starting to jell as a team."

The Swede, who entered Friday in 11th place in the CART standings with 74 points, was awarded the pole here last year when bad track conditions forced the cancellation of qualifying.

It was the first pole of the year for Brack, who had six in 2002 when he finished second in the standings.

Michael Andretti, CART's all-time leader with 42 victories, was second with an average of 213.591 mph in his Honda-Lola. The Pennsylvania native is seeking his first win since the Grand Prix of Long Branch in April and is ninth in the standings with 82 points.

"We just tweaked the car here and there throughout the whole session," Andretti said. "I just closed my eyes and held it down and here we are."

Cristiano da Matta was just behind Andretti with an average of 213.369 in his Toyota-Lola. The Brazilian sits atop the standings with 175 points. Da Matta's countryman, Bruno Junqueira is second, 52 points behind, but his 40 points on oval tracks lead all drivers. Junqueira was sixth Friday.

"I'm happy overall," da Matta said. "Since the start of the day, the car was running very well. The car is much better than what we had here last year. I don't think I had the speed to beat Kenny. But for the race I think I have a car that will be consistent until the end. It will be important to have a car like that in oder to run with (Brack) to the end."

Gil De Ferran won the inaugural Rockingham 500 in 2001, but is now competing in the Indy Racing League. De Ferran suffered a concussion last Sunday at the Delphi Indy 300.