Tracy

LEXINGTON, Ohio -- Paul Tracy led a Canadian sweep of the top three positions in claiming the provisional pole for Sunday's Champ Car World Series Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio at the local Sports Car Course.

Tracy was fastest at 120.957 miles per hour, covering the 2.25-mile course in 1 minute 7.204 seconds. He scored a valuable point in the championship and has secured at least a front row position in the starting grid.

"We had an off weekend at Elkhart Lake, losing the top spot in the standings, so we had to rebound today," Tracy said. "I know there is a lot of traffic out there but we have to deal with it and get it done."

Tracy also will be looking to record his fifth pole of the season in Saturday's second round qualifying. He is now two points behind leader Bruno Junqueira of Brazil, who qualified 11th.

Alex Tagliani was second at 120.468 mph and Patrick Carpentier third with a speed of 120.284.

"We broke the block of the engine in the pit lane, and we did about eight laps," Tagliani said. "I guess the car was all right on new tires, and we did an okay lap on the first set of tires. I think we got lucky on the second set. I didn't have any traffic. I did a fast lap early. A lot of the quick guys didn't have the chance to improve their lap."

Several other drivers had their attempts ruined by traffic, with all the cars on the track in the final five minutes. Jimmy Vasser also did not help the situation by spinning with two minutes remaining which brought out the red flag stop.

Carpentier took third even though he did not get the best out of his car.

"I did not get a clear lap today. There was traffic all the time," he said. "I kept letting cars by to get a gap but cars kept coming and coming. I finally got a couple of clear laps and logged in two quick times. At the end, I was trying to get another clear lap and Jimmy spun, causing a red flag stoppage."

Mexican drivers Mario Dominguez and Michel Jourdain rounded out the top five, with top rookie Sebastien Bourdais in sixth position.