Klein nips Cunningham for pole
Qualifying Saturday for the WAMZ 100 IRL Indy Pro Series event on the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway, with starting position, car number in parentheses, driver, chassis and speed:
1. (27) Jonathan Klein, Dallara, 189.392
2. (1) Wade Cunningham, Dallara, 189.019
3. (7) Jay Howard, Dallara, 188.824
4. (77) Travis Gregg, Dallara, 187.683
5. (11) Jaime Camara, Dallara, 187.172
6. (8) Ben Petter, Dallara, 186.803
7. (42) Tom Wood, Dallara, 186.468
8. (52) Nick Bussell, Dallara, 186.154
9. (24) Bobby Wilson, Dallara, 185.464
10. (51) Chris Festa, Dallara, 183.335
11. (76) Mike Potekhen, Dallara, 183.154
12. (3) Brett Van Blankers, Dallara, 182.474
13. (41) Sean Guthrie, Dallara, 181.891
14. (4) CR Crews, Dallara, 181.706
15. (26) Alex Lloyd, Dallara, 170.925
16. (9) Racer Kashima, Dallara, no time
JONATHAN KLEIN (No. 27 Klein Tools/Turn-Key Forging, SWE Race Car Parts Pole Award winner): "The car was fantastic. When it comes down to qualifying, it comes down to two hot laps. You get in and hang on, and that's what I did. The crew did a fantastic job." (About benefit of bonus test with Dario Franchitti): "The test was big. We used it to learn a lot of things and really get a feel for the track and learn my way around here. It's always beneficial to get track time. That definitely played a part in us getting the pole position here today. (Dario) helps out a ton, because he's been here and done that. He knows what it's all about and what it takes. Having him is great. I can't thank him enough for what he does." (About pole): "As you've seen the last few races, it's not always the pole sitter who wins the race. Anything can happen in this race. I'm not going to count my chickens before they hatch. We'll see how the warm-up goes tonight and take it from there. I'm pretty confident. I know the car will be good. Hopefully, it will work out for us tomorrow."
WADE CUNNINGHAM (No. 1 Brian Stewart Racing, qualified second): "I'm not surprised we're not on the pole, just a little disappointed. We spent a lot of the morning working on the race setup because it's something we haven't done the last two races. That came to bite us right at the end. We didn't do the homework to be starting out front. Our qualifying suffered a little bit. We're second, and you can't go much further forward than that."
JAY HOWARD (No. 7 Lucas Oil/Isilon/Sam Schmidt Motorsports, qualified third): "The car felt good, but obviously not good enough for the pole. Honestly, I'd rather be third than second, but we'll see. The car was really good in traffic and that's the most important thing. I'm confident in our chances tomorrow."
TRAVIS GREGG (No. 77 Lucas/Argosy Casino/Sam Schmidt Motorsports, qualified fourth): "Considering the situation, the car felt pretty good, and I think it has enough to take another checkered flag. Being in the car for the first time with this team this year, I'm pleased with where we qualified. I'm sure we'll probably be working on it right up to the race, but I think by race time we'll be right." (About racing with front runners): "Wade (Cunningham) and the guys in front of me have been tough all year. And I don't they're going to give everything up. With Jonathan taking his first pole. I'm also sure he'll be going for his first win, so we'll have our work cut out for us."
JAIME CAMARA (No. 11 Neo Quimica, qualified fifth): "That was the best we could do for qualifying. It was a bit hotter than this morning, and we lost some speed. We have a very good car for the race. It was good drafting this morning and I think we're in good shape for tomorrow."
BEN PETTER: (No. 8 Michael Crawford Motorsports, qualified sixth): "The car is running really well. I've worked very closely with engineering and I think we worked out a pretty good balance. We had a pretty good idea on where to run for a qualifying setup, and I think we've got a pretty good idea for the race."
ALEX LLOYD (No. 26 Automatic Fire Sprinklers, qualified 14th): "It was a fuel pressure problem, no power. We did the one lap and then pulled in. We weren't going anywhere. It's disappointing, but we'll just have to try and make up those places in the race.