KANSAS CITY, KAN. ? Something about long holiday weekends must agree with Buddy Rice.

On Memorial Day, Rice won the Indianapolis 500. Today, Rice will start the Indy Racing League’s Fourth of July race — the Argent Mortgage Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway — from the pole position.

“I can’t say enough about it,” Rice said of his Rahal Letterman Racing team’s current success — which includes his third MBNA pole of the season when he turned a lap at 210.141 mph in 26.0396 seconds Saturday around the 1.5-mile tri-oval track.

“Our car has been quite good for qualifying at all the tracks. We were just waiting to see what the weather was going to do. They made some adjustments right before qualifying, and it seemed to work.”

Tony Kanaan, who won two weeks ago at Texas Motor Speedway — a superspeedway similar to Kansas’ — qualified second.

“We felt that we had a strong car this morning, so we just basically repeated the same lap time that we did this morning, this afternoon,” said Kanaan, who qualified at 209.681 mph in 26.0968 seconds. “Buddy had a very, very good lap. I don’t think I had the car to do a 210, but second place is not a bad start, and we’ll go from there.”

Rice’s teammate, Vitor Meira, starts third (209.342 mph at 26.1391 seconds), while Marlboro Team Penske’s Sam Hornish Jr. (209.262 mph at 26.1491 seconds) completes the second row.

Kanaan’s teammate, Bryan Herta, who won last year’s race at Kansas Speedway because of proper fuel strategy, was the quickest in both of the morning’s practice sessions at 208.666 mph.

The most interesting question posed to Rice and Kanaan was: Is the year drivers should go Honda or go home?

Pole winner Buddy Rice, right, and Tony Kanaan pose for a photo after they qualified 1-2 for today's Argent Mortgage Indy 300. Qualifying was Saturday at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan.

“Honda did their homework during the offseason,” Rice said of his and Kanaan’s engine manufacturer, which has won six of the first seven poles this season — as well as victories in five of the first six races. “They came out with the best engine right now, it’s the one to have.”

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Triple crown: Thiago Medeiros’ third straight victory in three Menards Infiniti Pro Series races obviously wasn’t as prestigious as horse racing’s triple crown. Still, the Sao Paulo, Brazil, native wasn’t complaining after winning Saturday’s Aventis Racing for Kids 100.

“I’m really happy, and I’m looking forward to Nashville,” said Medeiros, who led from start to finish of the 67-lap race and held off Paul Dana by .1322 seconds.

“The wind changed a lot today, and I knew I didn’t have the best setup, so I just saved the tires for the end,” said Medeiros, who increased his points lead to 198. Arie Luyendyk Jr. is second at 123.

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Like father, like son: Al Unser, the son of racer Al Unser Jr., finished third in the Aventis Racing For Kids 100 — his first-ever Indy Racing League event.

“I’d like to thank Keith Duesenberg (team owner) for giving me a chance,” Al Unser said. “Third place isn’t bad, but we had these guys.

“We had a run on Dana there, and when we went into Turn 3, he closed the door. We just needed a few more laps. We were right there.”

Unser Jr., who announced earlier in the weekend he was retiring from the sport, was pleased with his son’s first performance.

“To have a podium finish like this in his first oval race in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series is just awesome,” he said. “He did a great job. I’m awful proud.”