Brack returns to top of the times

The Swede found a lap of 230.597mph in his Team Rahal Lola-Ford to lead Bruno Junqueira and Paul Tracy.

Brack's fastest lap was more than 10mph slower than Gil de Ferran's 2000 track record of 241.428mph due to reduced horsepower and aerodynamic modifications.

"Our package has been strong all year on ovals," said Brack, who has won four times in 2001- all on ovals. "We didn't run too much today, because we blew up this morning and put the spare car in the wall and we had an oil leak in the primary car in the afternoon. I'm pretty happy with the balance of the car, but we won't be using the spare again."

Junqueira is battling his team mate Memo Gidley for the second seat at Ganassi Racing in 2002. He was fastest in the Friday morning session and second in the afternoon, while Gidley improved to seventh.

"I was more comfortable here today than I was for my first day at Michigan," said Junqueira. "I knew what I needed to get from the car, and my car was good running by myself or in traffic."

Unlike the morning session, there were no major interruptions to the afternoon session.