Qualifying 2: Rain hands Kanaan pole

The unexpected wet weather caused Trans-Am qualifying to be cancelled and forced the Champ Cars to run their final qualifications on a wet track. No one therefore approached Tony Kanaan's Friday time of 61.284 seconds, handing the Brazilian his first pole of the 2002 season and the third of his CART career. However, Scott Dixon claimed the championship point on offer for setting the fastest time of the day at 69.786 seconds. But the New Zealander will start Sunday's 105-lap contest from second, where he qualified Friday.

Kanaan didn't even venture out in a session that started with a soaked track that rapidly dried in most parts. But the drivers could never switch to slicks because of a steady stream of water crossing the track at Turn 6.

"I wanted to go out, but Morris Nunn convinced me not to," Kanaan said. "That was a smart decision. But if anyone had come close to my time on wet tyres, I would stay at home tomorrow!

'The race will be a good battle between Scott and myself, and some of the guys at the back will be using strategy to try to get up front with us," he added.

Kanaan's 81.503-mph pole lap is the third slowest in CART's 23-year history.

Dixon was comfortably fastest in Saturday's session, but the slower conditions kept him from getting within eight seconds of Friday's times.

"We used the same set of wets throughout the session and I think that helped us," he said. "The newer wets tended to chunk quite badly on the dry section of the track, whereas the ones with a lot of laps on them stayed very consistent.

"But it was very slippery, especially in the 4-5-6 section," Dixon continued. "Every lap I had a couple of moments. I think a three-hour sports car track will sort it out. Actually, I think they're going to destroy that track."

The remainder of the grid is also exactly as it was after the Friday session, with Tora Takagi and Kenny Brack on row two and Alex Tagliani and Cristiano da Matta on the third row. The rain was particularly harsh for 2002 race winners Michael Andretti, Paul Tracy and Patrick Carpentier, all of whom find themselves near the back of the grid.

Pit stops will play a smaller role in Sunday's 105-lap race because the window is fairly large. Drivers will be required to pit every 42 laps, meaning most will complete the race with only two pit stops.

Tony Kanaan Lola Honda 1m01.264s
Scott Dixon Lola-Toyota 1m01.444s (1m09.786s*)
Tora Takagi Reynard-Toyota 1m02.039s
Kenny Brack Lola-Toyota 1m02.165s
Alex Tagliani Reynard-Cosworth 1m02.304s
Cristiano da Matta Lola-Toyota 1m02.348s
Dario Franchitti Lola-Honda 1m02.369s
Christian Fittipaldi Lola-Toyota 1m02.523s
Adrian Fernandez Lola-Honda 1m02.543s
Bruno Junqueira Lola-Toyota 1m02.607s
Shinji Nakano Lola-Honda 1m02.750s
Jimmy Vasser Lola-Cosworth 1m02.860s
Oriol Servia Reynard-Toyota 1m02.891s
Michael Andretti Lola-Honda 1m03.052s
Michel Jourdain Jr Lola-Cosworth 1m03.055s
Paul Tracy Lola-Honda 1m03.134s
Patrick Carpentier Reynard-Cosworth 1m04.135s
Mario Dominguez Lola-Cosworth 1m04.326s

*Saturday qualifying best