Papis on pole, heroic Blundell alongside

Papis has looked quick on the ovals all year. He deserved to win at Michigan but was robbed when he ran out of fuel leading into the final corner. The Italian has been one of the fastest men on the track since practice began on Thursday, so his pole is no surprise.

Blundell's pace is rather more of a shock. He may be back in the car, but Mark is still suffering from the injuries he sustained in that violent testing shunt at St.Louis in May. He may be in a lot of discomfort, but Blundell has still made PacWest look more competitive than at any time since he won the US500 for them way back in October 1997.

It's also his first front row start in nearly four years of CART racing. With rumours that PacWest might be reconsidering their driver line-up for next season, his speed is timely. Team-mate Mauricio Gugelmin is 12th.

Jimmy Vasser will start 3rd. Before qualifying he made an off-the-cuff remark about 'keeping my job if I win this race.' Though he has had a disappointing season, most have assumed that Vasser will stay at Ganassi for 2000, so his comment seems odd. Whatever the situation, he needs a good result.

Dario Franchitti is the best of the title contenders in 4th, Juan Montoya has been battling with spectacular oversteer this weekend and will start 10th. Watch out for the young Brazilians too, Helio Castro-Neves in 5th and Christiano da Matta in 9th, neither of them have got the results their speed has deserved this year, both have been among the pacesetters throughout the meeting.

Down at the wrong end of the grid, Paul Tracy will not be amused to start 17th, but at least he's ahead of Michael Andretti and Gil de Ferran. They all have proved their ability to cut through the traffic in the past, they will need to do so again tomorrow.

Al Unser Jr crashed in morning practice but still lined-up in his customary 24th spot. Also worth noting is that the two Eagles have been setting virtually identical times all weekend. Robby Gordon and Raul Boesel will start together on row 11.

If anyone on the grid deserves sympathy, it's Bryan Herta. In the week when Bobby Rahal suggested he find himself a new drive for 2000, Herta qualifies 7th, one of his best performance this year. Trouble is, his team-mate Max Papis will start from pole. Only 0.11s splits the two Rahal cars, but that equates to six places in the starting line-up. CART is nothing if not competitive.

Starting line-up for the Chicago Grand Prix: