Bourdais struggles, wins pole

Trailing defending series champion Paul Tracy late in Saturday’s qualifying for the Bridgestone Grand Prix of Monterey (Calif.), Sebastien Bourdais locked up the left front tire on his Newman/Haas Racing Lola as he approached the left-handed Mario Andretti hairpin turn on the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Bourdais put his left wheels into the dirt and struggled hard to stay in control, finally jerking the car back onto the track.

“The tire was fine,” Bourdais said. “I slowed down for a bit to clear my mind and clear the tires. Then I got two decent laps I was pretty happy with.”

Either of those fast laps, both coming in the final minute and a half of the session, would have been enough to take his fourth consecutive pole and the 12th of his Champ Car career. The second one was slightly faster at 1 minute, 9.358 seconds (116.163 mph).

Defending race winner Patrick Carpentier, guaranteed a front-row starting spot in today’s race after winning the provisional pole Friday, will start alongside Bourdais.

Don’t count out Hornish

Looking at the stats, Sam Hornish Jr. appears to be struggling.

The two-time Indy Racing League champion hasn’t won since Homestead, the first race of the year. He’s finished out of the top 10 in his last three races, and has dropped to sixth in the championship race, 189 points behind Tony Kanaan.

But don’t bet against Hornish this week.

“Chicagoland is a good track for me,” Hornish said after qualifying seventh for today’s Delphi Indy 300.

Good? That’s a bit of an understatement.

Hornish has won the last two races at the Chicagoland Speedway, and was runner-up to Jaques Lazier in 2001. He also won the pole in 2002.

Hornish’s victories were two of the most exciting in open-wheel history, too.

In 2002, he nosed ahead of Al Unser Jr. in the final turn and held on to win by .0024 seconds, the closest Indy car finish in history.

Last year, Hornish won by .0099 seconds, edging Scott Dixon and Bryan Herta in the IRL’s closest 1-2-3 finish.

Castroneves takes pole at Delphi

Helio Castroneves won the Delphi Indy 300 pole, his second consecutive pole and third of the season, with an official lap of 214.759 mph at Joliet, Ill.

Tony Kanaan was second at 214.030 mph.

Barrichello wins Italian GP pole

Rubens Barrichello won the pole position for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Italy. Barrichello covered the 3.6-mile lap in 1:20.089.