LEXINGTON, OHIO (June 29, 2002) –Sean McIntosh, of Coquitlam, B.C., Can., captured the pole for Round Eight of the 2002 Formula Ford 2000 Zetec Championship at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Completing the top-three was JW Urlin, of London, Ont., Can. and Tonis Kasemets, of Mundelein, Ill. The top ACC qualifier was Jeff Sakowicz, of Camarillo, Calif.
In typical summer weather in Ohio, hot and humid, the Zetec Championship took to the track for the 30-minute qualifying on the challenging 2.258-mile road course. Early in the session the drivers searched for grip, while the tires came up to temperature. At the ten-minute mark in the session, McIntosh moved to the top of the charts with a lap of 1:23.463 (97.394 mph). As the session progressed the top-five drivers all moved into the 1:23 time range. By the halfway point of the session, McIntosh maintained the provisional pole, while Urlin, in the No. 199 Budget Rent A Car OTM Motorsports Mygale Ford, had moved into second place. On the same lap that Urlin posted his quick time, Kasemets, driving the No. 9 MK Industries/TMI/Redline Oil Pabst Racing Services Van Diemen Ford, posted a lap just 1/1000th of a second slower to move into third place. With a number drivers looking set to improve their times, the black flag came out, halting the session, after Andy Brumbaugh spun off course in turn seven and became stuck in the gravel trap. After a brief stoppage, the session resumed with ten minutes remaining. Soon after the restart it became apparent that the top-five might not change, as numerous drivers found the track to have less grip than before the stoppage. With less than two minutes remaining in the session, the course was again black flagged, for James Gue spinning and becoming stuck in the carousel. With not enough time to restart the session, the checkered flag was thrown, giving McIntosh, driving the No. 24 Kirmac Carstar/PPG/Lordco Auto PR1 Motorsports Van Diemen Ford, his first career Zetec Championship pole. With Mcintosh and Urlin on the front-row, it is the first all-Canadian front-row in Zetec Championship history at Mid-Ohio.
“The car was awesome at the start of the session,” said McIntosh, who is currently fourth in the championship. “I was actually disappointed to see that first black flag, as I wanted to keep going and try to get a quicker lap down. After the stoppage the track was really slick so I felt pretty confident about keeping the pole, but this series is so tight you never know if someone going to do a quick lap late in the session.”
“I’m really surprised to be here on the front-row,” said Urlin, who is third in the championship and coming off two podium finishes at the Milwaukee Mile. “We did a bunch of changes, which obviously helped, but the car still isn’t perfect. I always figured my first front-row start would be on an oval.”
“We’re not quite there yet,” said Kasemets, who won here at Mid-Ohio last year from pole. “I think the key to the race will be the start and who can go quick in the opening laps.”
Completing the top-five for the Sunday morning race is Jeffrey Jones, of Sarasota, Fla, in the No. 2 JCI Jones Chemicals/Winchester Cape Motorsports Van Diemen Ford and Laswon Aschenbach, of Gaithersburg, Md., in the No. 32 Forsythe/King Auto/M&M Welding PR1 Motorsports Van Diemen Ford.
