LONG BEACH GRAND PRIX: TRACY FORCED TO PLAY CATCH.

Byline: Bob Keisser Staff Writer

Anyone wanting to see how determined Paul Tracy is to catch the Newman/Haas tag-team of Sebastien Bourdais and Bruno Junqueira only had to visit his parking spot in the Toyota Champ Car garage.

There sat his No. 3 Indeck/Forsythe ride that, as of 3 p.m. Saturday, featured a completely battered left side, from tire to tire, after the Canadian slid hard into turn 11 on his ninth qualifying lap Saturday for today's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

The man who has won this race four times tried to power through the turn and improve on his best lap time of 1:07.408 (105.103 miles per hour) and instead caught the wall. Third after qualifying Friday, he now will start sixth in the grid of 18 for the 32nd annual race.

He'll do so behind pole-sitter Bourdais, the Frenchman who set a track record with a 1:06.866 turn (105.924 mph) Saturday, surpassing Tracy's record from 2005, and fellow front row starter Justin Wilson of RuSPORT, who turned in a1:07.208 (105.416 mph) on the 12th lap of Saturday's qualifying session.

That allowed the Brit to slip ahead of Bourdais' Newman/Haas teammate Junqueira. The Brazilian will start third (1:07.225, 105.389 mph) alongside Wilson's RuSPORT teammate, A.J. Allmendinger (1:07.249, 105.352 mph). Tracy will sit in the third row alongside Forsythe teammate Mario Dominguez (107.301, 105.270mph).

"The car just didn't grip as well as the Newman/Haas cars," Tracy said at his garage, peering into the engine and the chassis damage like Gil Grissom of CBS' "CSI" checking a crime scene. "I tried to get more than was there.

"I'm trying to run at their pace, trying very hard, and I lost it. It broke the tub so we'll switch it out. I'm familiar in that car, so it won't be a problem."

The problem is that the Newman/Haas team, owned by actor Paul Newman and race car maven Carl Haas, remains on top of the Champ Car World Series game and is still giving ground begrudgingly despite the best efforts of veterans like Tracy and the up-and-comers from RuSPORT.

Bourdais only took six of his allotted 15 laps in qualifying, and Junqueira might have been able to improve on his time if Tracy's crash and minor contact between rookies Will Power and Charles Zwolsman around the hairpin hadn't caused a red flag that ended the session.

It was the 19th time Bourdais has claimed a poll, tying him for tenth all-time in Champ Car history, but his first in Long Beach. It marks the ninth time a Newman/Haas car has won the pole here, and the 30th time they've nabbed the pole in the past 60 races.

In the past 66 Champ Car races, Newman/Haas has 31wins.

"The car was great, and there wasn't much to complain about," Bourdais said, noting some front end handling.

"The cars have been very good every session," Junqueira said. "They weren't perfect, but good enough for us to improve. This is good for my first race back (since a major back injury last year). I'm up front on a difficult street course."

The top six drivers clearly reflect the top competitors for the race, and the jump up in the standings by the RuSPORT duo reflects the belief that the three-year-old driving team is ready to become Newman/Haas' top threat.

While Bourdais, seeking his third straight Champ Car World Series title, feels confident, he's wary of his competition. "I think all of the favorites are up front."

The rest of the top ten in the field will be Aussie Vineyards/Team Australia's Alex Tagliani and PVK's Oriol Servia in the fourth row, and Aussie rookie Will Power and Cristiano Da Matta (Coyne) in the fifth. Katherine Legge, the PVK rookie making her Champ Car debut a year after winning the Atlantic race here a year ago, will start 17th.

The race is set to begin at 1p.m., with 76 laps scheduled over the 1.968 mile course.

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Photo:

Paul Tracy moves through the pits during qualifying for the Long Beach Grand Prix on Saturday.

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

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