BROOKLYN, Mich., July 29 -- Parker Johnstone, a part-time movie stunt driver who has appeared in such movies as 'Speed,' pulled one of the greatest stunts of the season Saturday by winning the pole position for Sunday's Marlboro 500 IndyCar race. Johnstone drove a 1995 Reynard/Honda to a fast lap of 230.458 miles an hour at the 2.0-mile Michigan International Speedway. It was the first-ever IndyCar pole for Honda in its second season of competition. More amazingly, it is the first-ever oval attempt for Johnstone, who has an extensive background in sports car racing. 'We've done a lot of testing on ovals and I find it really enjoyable to run in traffic,' said Johnstone, a 34-year-old driver from Redmond, Wash. 'I've put a lot of miles on the car in testing. I'm learning how the car runs in traffic and using my mirrors. You can run within inches of the drivers you know and it gives you a feeling of confidence. 'It's like a 230-mile-an-hour chess game,' he said. Johnstone will start alongside Italy's Teo Fabi, who in 1983 won the pole for the Indianapolis 500 in only his second oval track start. Fabi drove his Reynard/Ford to a lap at 228.526 miles an hour. Rounding out the top five are Michael Andretti, Jacques Villeneuve and Jimmy Vasser. Andretti figured when he was among the first drivers to make a qualification attempt, his speed of 228.413 mph would not hold up for the pole.
'We did what we thought was a good lap,' Andretti said. 'The car felt great. Everything was perfect and then Teo took the wind out of our sails. And then, Parker had a great run in the Honda. 'We didn't get the pole but that really doesn't matter because we just want to be there all day on Sunday.' Just as Johnstone has played in the background of several motion pictures, he has competed in relative obscurity this season in selected races. Last week at Cleveland, Johnston finished 11th. But when the IndyCar series moved to the ultra-fast superspeedway at Michigan, the Honda contingent was looked at as potential pole winners. This came after an outstanding performance by Honda in the Indianapolis 500 on May 28, which would have been won by Honda driver Scott Goodyear if he had not passed the pace car, drawing a black flag late in the race. Johnstone has been with Comptech Racing for 10 years and has competed in the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) series in sports prototype racing. Driving the Comptech Acura NSX-Spice Camel Lights car, he was able to win three consecutive IMSA driver's and manufacturer's titles from 1991 through 1993. He also won every pole position during the 1992 season in Camel Lights racing. On Sunday, he gets his chance to lead the field to the green flag to start an Indy Car race and he believes he is up to the challenge. 'I haven't led any Indy Car races, but I've led races and I know my responsibility to have a safe, fair start,' Johnstone said. On Friday, some of the other competitors were running faster laps than Johnstone, but many of them were aided by drafting, where the air vacuum from another car works as a 'tow' for the cars running behind it. Johnstone concentrated on running by himself to set up his car for a pole-winning run. 'Paul Tracy spent Friday trolling for a tow,' Johnstone said. 'I towed him on his fast lap yesterday. 'I felt cheap and dirty after helping him get his fastest lap.' Apparently Johnstone has learned his script very well because in the movie 'Speed' he was a tow truck driver. On Saturday, instead of making a cameo appearance, Johnstone was able to finally earn top billing in a starring role.
