Vancouver: Saturday qualifying report

Allmendinger keeps Vancouver pole.

(Vancouver, B.C., Canada) July 27- A.J. Allmendinger will lead the field to the green flag in Sunday's Barber Dodge Pro Series race after securing the pole in Friday's provisional qualifying session and holding onto the top spot after Saturday's cooler track conditions prevented times from dropping below those set on Friday. Marc Breuers, who was second quick in Friday's qualifying session, was fastest in the second qualifying session with a lap of 1:15.661 and will take one championship point for the effort.

Starting behind Allmendinger and Breuers will be Julio Campos and Christian Szymczak in the second row, while Rafael Sperafico and Memo Rojas will take the green from the third row. Row four will see the fields highest qualifying Canadian, Dan Di Leo, start next to Leo Maia in his Quaker State-liveried machine, while Danica Patrick will make her first start from the top ten alongside of Cleveland round winner Davy Cook, who improved his time over Friday's qualifying session to knock himself into the top ten.

The half-hour qualifying session followed a support series session, and the track had considerably less grip than was available on Friday thanks to a combination of oil and rubber on the track, keeping most of the field from improving on their times from Friday. Allmendinger set a new qualifying record on Friday with his lap of 1:15.245 seconds on the 1.781-mile temporary road course and has no intention of slowing down. Despite his considerable points lead over the rest of the Barber Dodge Pro Series field, A.J. Allmendinger is looking to convert his pole position into a win and not willing to slow down one bit.

"I was surprised that the times didn't improve from yesterday but I guess that the rubber from the other series had a lot to do with that," said Allmendinger. "This is the first track that we have raced on this season that I have raced on before, so I am looking forward to the race. I am going out there to win the race, and starting from the pole will hopefully help get me some clear track to do that."

Vancouver has been the site of first-time wins for the last two seasons and Saturday's fastest driver is hoping to keep that streak alive.

"I had a good gap when we first went out, and that was key to getting the fastest lap of this session," said Breuers. "Every championship point I can get, I'll take. We are fortunate to run right after the Champcars frequently, and that usually works pretty well with our Michelins, but that wasn't the case today so we just have to concentrate on getting a good clean start to the race and hopefully we can get a win."

Julio Campos, who won the pole position for the Portland round, was also surprised that the field didn't improve their times over yesterday. The young Brazilian is also looking forward to the start of the race, and knows he can't win it on the first lap.

"The car was better than it was yesterday, but the track was a lot slower, so I couldn't get the pole this time. I wont be trying anything crazy on the first few laps, I just want to get the race started and try and see if my car is fast enough to make some passes tomorrow."

The 40-minute race begins at 10:45 A.M. on Sunday. Full results and story to be posted at www.barberdodge.com.

The Barber Dodge Pro Series is the Official Entry Level Professional Series of CART. The drivers utilize identically prepared single seat open wheel Reynard-Dodge racecars. Barber Dodge Pro Series provides a level playing field where driving talent, not financial resources, play the decisive role.

This state-of-the-art platform, with its carbon composite construction, raised nose and 6-speed sequential gearbox, takes full advantage of the 265hp all aluminum Dodge V6 Intrepid motor that is exclusive to this series. Additionally, all of the Barber Dodges compete on identical Michelin Pilot racing slicks. To ensure absolute equality for all competitors, the Barber Dodge Pro Series

owns, maintains, prepares and transports all the cars and equipment. This serves to control costs while allowing the drivers to concentrate solely on developing their driving skills. The Barber Dodge Pro Series rewards those with dedication and skill with true financial incentive - an incredible $55,100 in prize money is available for each Barber Dodge Pro Series event with $13,000 going to the race winner. The overall Series Champion receives a $100,000 scholarship towards entry in the Toyota Atlantic Championship, and the series Rookie of the Year receives $185,000 in career enhancement funding. In total, the Barber Dodge Pro Series pays out over $1 million annually in prize money, contingencies and scholarships.

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