Rookie Gets Pole Position

In Melbourne, Australia, Jacques Villeneuve will start from the pole in his first career Formula One race after leading today’s qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix.

Villeneuve lapped the 3.274-mile Albert Park track at 128.401 mph.

Villeneuve, who jumped to F-1’s Williams-Renault team after winning the 1995 IndyCar title, was spectacular in today’s qualifying session. His lap of 92.371 seconds was .138 faster than teammate Damon Hill.

Third and fourth went to the new Ferrari pair of Eddie Irvine and two-time Formula One defending champion Michael Schumacher.

In Hampton, Ga., rookie Johnny Benson gave Pontiac its first pole in 2-1/2 years when he nearly broke a track qualifying record.

Benson sped over the Atlanta Motor Speedway at 185.434 mph. That puts him on the front row Sunday in the Purolator 500, just his fourth Winston Cup race.

Also in Hampton, Dick Trickle, getting an 11th-hour call to drive a Chevrolet for Dennis Shoemaker, won the pole position for today’s Busch Light 300 Grand National race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Trickle turned a lap of 177.544 mph on the 1.522-mile oval to take his second Busch Series pole, both on the Atlanta track.

Former Busch Series champion David Green was second at 177.389 in another Chevrolet, followed by the Ford of Mark Martin at 177.309, the Pontiac of Spokane’s Chad Little at 177.137 and the Chevy of Dale Fischlein at 177.114.