Michael Andretti, while struggling with a faulty...
Michael Andretti, while struggling with a faulty engine, had the quickest lap of the weekend and won the pole position for today’s Detroit Grand Prix Indy-car race.
Andretti went past Friday’s leader Emerson Fittipaldi before the engine in his Chevrolet-powered Lola stopped, leaving him stranded on the downtown street course with about half the 30-minute qualifying session remaining.
He took almost a full second off his previous best lap time on the 2.5-mile, 17-turn course, going from 1 minute 42.679 seconds, an average of 87.652 m.p.h., to 1:41.681 and 88.512 m.p.h.
Also in Detroit, Greg Pickett, who took the lead with two laps remaining, went on to win the sixth Motor City 100 SCCA Trans-Am race.
Chris Kneifel had a big lead over Pickett, in a Chevrolet Corvette, at the start of the 39th of 40 laps when smoke began pouring from the rear of his Chevrolet Camaro.
Pickett, from Alamo, Calif., passed him about halfway through the lap and went on to a 16.987-second victory over Willy T. Ribbs in a Camaro.
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