Portland, Ore. ? Paul Tracy won his second pole of the CART season, surprising himself with a lap of 120.565 mph on a rainy Saturday at Portland International Raceway.

It was his fifth front-row start of the season, first pole since last month at Brands Hatch in England, and 15th overall.

“It’s never been a good track for me, I’ve never qualified fantastic,” Tracy said.

“This is a track where track position is most important. To be leading the field off is a good feeling.”

He edged out provisional polesitter Michel Jourdain Jr. to take the top spot for today’s G.I. Joe’s 200.

Series points leader Jourdain was guaranteed a starting spot on the front row regardless of Saturday’s results, but earned the second position anyway with a lap of 120.473.

He went 119.339 in provisional qualifying Friday afternoon and will start on the front row for the third time this season.

With rain looming on the horizon, most drivers hit the track as soon as the green flag waved. But Jourdain waited and waited some more.

“We were in a little different position than everybody else today,” he said.

Paul Tracy of Canada celebrates setting the pole for the CART G.I. Joe's 200 with a lap of 120.565 mph Saturday in Portland, Ore.

“Our position in the pits is not very good, so we decided to wait a little bit and I think we waited a little too much.”

Indeed, the rains came, and Jourdain’s run was cut short.

“The worst thing that could happen happened — we’re second,” he said.

Tracy earned a championship point for winning the pole, moving leaving him one behind Bruno Junqueira for second place and eight points behind Jourdain.

Adrian Fernandez wound up third on the grid for his best start here.

“Third place is good for us, although we thought we had a shot at pole,” Fernandez commented.

Rookie points leader Sebastien Bourdais joins Fernandez in the second row.

Another rookie, Ryan Hunter-Reay, qualified seventh a day after his second-place finish was disallowed because his car was overweight. Max Papis will start 15th in his return to CART after a one-year absence.

Musgrave charges late,

topples Wood in Texas

Millington, Texas — Ted Musgrave raced close to the lead, then shoved his way past Jon Wood with 14 laps remaining to win NASCAR truck series race Saturday at Memphis Motorsports Park.

Driving a Dodge, Musgrave surrendered the lead to the polesitter on the 145th lap around the three-quarter-mile oval. He was content to let Wood set the pace in his Ford.

But Musgrave caught Wood at the line to begin lap 187 and looked for passing room both high and low — moves the leader blocked entering the first turn. The trucks touched briefly and slid sideways before Musgrave recovered to take the advantage in Turn 2.

Lapped traffic allowed defending O’Reilly 200 winner Travis Kvapil to close dramatically on Musgrave over the final two laps. But the charge fell short by a truck-length at the checkered flag.