Kyle Martin captures Pole for "Stars" at Road America By Glenn Holland (eRacingvision.com) ELKHART LAKE, WI (August 17, 2002) - Trackmagic driver Kyle Martin posted the fastest lap in qualifying today for the CART "Stars of Tomorrow" presented by Snap-on.com event at the Briggs & Stratton Motorplex at Road America. Martin lapped the 8/10th-mile sprint kart course in 46.591 seconds, followed by Paul Tracy Karting driver Matt Jaskol of Las Vegas, Nevada at 46.770 and Arizona's Alan Rudolph in the Franklin Motorsports/PCR kart at 46.807. Martin was understandably happy with the results. "The kart felt good like it has all weekend. We have a few minor changes for the main event to be ready." Martin's initial laps in the 20-minute session proved deceptive to his team. "When I first went out I thought I was blistering fast when I was out there. I came in and my team said 'it's not that great' so I went out and did the same time, but it ended up being the best, so we'll take it." The field was divided into two qualifying groups by using practice times, with the slower group qualifying first. Michael Bailliez set the pace in the first group with a 47.333 with Chris Festa right behind at 47.347. The groupings by practice time proved out, as Bailliez and Festa wound up eighth and ninth, respectively. When the track was opened for group two, Martin and Jaskol quickly set solid times, as did Preston Peebles, who struggled with a finicky carburetor in practice. Jake Pierson had been strong in the final practice but was just shy of his earlier pace in qualifying and settled for the sixth position. Kyle Wiegand took a few laps to get up to speed but brought in a 46.832 on his seventh lap, good enough for fourth. Rudolph, Wiegand, and Peebles were separated by a mere 78/1000's of a second, a testament to the competitiveness of the Stars field and the ICC engine formula. Jaskol, who had been at the top of the time sheets in practice, claimed his best starting position for a Stars national event with his runner-up position. "I was hoping to get pole, but to be two-tenths off of Martin at a track I've never been to isn't too bad." The 17-year-old Las Vegas resident claimed a Team Rahal champ car test last year in Stars competition and has been one of the fastest kart racers in 2002. Alan Rudolph did a bit of lurking to determine what was necessary to start up front as he did not immediately take his machine on course when the green flag was shown. "I wanted to time a couple guys because if I know what I've got to go after I do a little better. I saw Martin and Jaskol post some eight's so I went out with that target." Although Rudolph did not claim the pole, he is very confident going into tomorrow's race. "We've been very consistent and over a 30 lap race I think it will pay off." Sunday's ICC main event is scheduled for 12:15 local time at the Briggs & Stratton Motorplex at Road America. Qualifying results for the CART Stars of Tomorrow presented by Snap-on.com national race at the Briggs & Stratton Motorplex at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin: Pos. No. Name Best Laptime In Lap 1 96 Kyle Martin 46.591 5 2 5 Matt Jaskol 46.770 7 3 7 Alan Rudolph 46.807 5 4 86 Kyle Wiegand 46.832 7 5 111 Preston Peebles 46.885 5 6 77 Jake Pierson 46.975 5 7 11 Jason Bowles 47.271 12 8 4 Michael Bailliez 47.333 7 9 19 Chris Festa 47.347 4 10 66 Erik Bartolero 47.546 5 11 6 Mark MacDonald 47.605 7 12 8 David MacDonald 47.841 9 13 99 Matt Keck 47.911 12 14 40 Jon Wade 48.062 6 15 28 Francesco D'Avola 48.181 19 16 1 Munguci Moceri 48.261 11 17 16 Tyler Thielmann 48.272 9 The CART 'Stars of Tomorrow' karting series is the official first level in CARTıs driver development system. Specifically designed as a driver development series, Stars focuses on recognizing the skills of the drivers rather than the technology development within the machines, using FIA/CIK international standards. The Stars program consists of several regional race series, plus three national and one grand national events. More information can be found at www.cartstars.com. Snap-On Incorporated is a leading global developer, manufacturer and marketer of tool and equipment solutions for professional tool users. Product lines include hand tools, power tools, automotive diagnostics and shop equipment, tool storage products, automotive diagnostics software and other solutions for the transportation service, industrial, government, education, agricultural, and other commercial applications, including construction and electrical. Products are sold through its franchise dealer van, company direct sales and distributor and Internet channels. Founded in 1920, Snap-On is a $2+ billion, S&P 500 company headquartered in Kenosha, Wisconsin and employs approximately 14,000 worldwide. More information can be found at www.snap-on.com. Visit the CART "Stars of Tomorrow" website Here!