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Andretti Fast in Practice; deFerran takes ALMS Pole

Marco Andretti and Tony Kanaan were 1&2 in practice for tomorrow's IndyCar "knockout" qualifying session. Typical summer heat here at Lexington, OH...Kanaan says the seeds for running well when it's hot are planted in the off season...Kanaan, who lives in Miami, says training in the heat pays benefits on days like this. Marco, as one might expect, thinks the more seat time the better...but won't double up this weekend in the ALMS Andretti-Green Acura...he says he wants to stay sharp for the Indy Car race...and that two road course races in a weekend would take a lot out of a driver. Oval races, says Andretti, are a bit easier on the driver.

There's no racing rust for Gil deFerran (picture, right)...the ex-sporting director for Honda's F1 effort...past CART champion and Indianapolis 500 winner sits on the overall pole for the American LeMans Series here at Mid-Ohio. This was Gil's first pole in 3 ALMS events. LMP2 Acuras sit on the front row...David Brabham from last week's race winning Highcroft Patron racing team is second fastest...the Penske Porsche driven by Timo Bernhard starts 3rd...and in LMP1...Marco Werner (picture, left) and the Audi R10 diesel starts 4th overall.

Gil says the challenge of getting that Acura to go faster is a challenge which seems to bring out the best in his team. He's always been kind of an analytical driver. In a series that allows more technical innovation, analysis is a good thing.

We'll rejoin you with IndyCar qualifying tomorrow...plus a drag racing take on shortening the track for the nitro Top Fuel and Funny Car cars.