Long Beach Grand Prix Qualifying : Al Unser Jr. on Provisional Pole, Hopes That Sun Will Shine Today

Defending champion Al Unser Jr., hoping that ideal conditions would not be repeated today, put his Lola-Chevrolet on the provisional pole Friday for Sunday’s Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Unser, in his eighth season of Indy car racing, has never started a race from the pole but turned a fast lap over the 1.67-mile street course at 90.740 m.p.h. That wasn’t a record--Mario Andretti’s 92.190 in 1985 still stands--but it was faster than anyone else. If nobody beats it today, Unser will lead the field off the start-finish line Sunday at noon.

“We’ve been very, very close so many times, so maybe it’s semi-safe,” Unser said of his possible pole start. “But I’m by no means out of reach. I just hope the sun shines tomorrow.”

It didn’t on Friday, for which Unser was grateful.

“We had perfect conditions today,” he said. “It was overcast with cool air and there was rubber (just accumulating) on the track. Tomorrow, the rubber will be starting to build up and that tends to slow things down.”

Qualifying right behind Unser was Michael Andretti (89.240 m.p.h) in another Lola-Chevy, and behind him, surprisingly, was Teo Fabi (88.804) in a Porsche.

Mario Andretti, Michael’s father, was fourth-fastest at 88.800, in a backup Lola-Chevy. His primary car was knocked out of action in the morning practice session when he and Randy Lewis tangled.