Gladeville, Tenn. ? Buddy Rice nipped teammate Vitor Meira once again at the end.

Rice grabbed his second straight pole Friday and fourth this year with a lap of 201.231 mph at Nashville Superspeedway, edging Meira by a slightly larger margin than he needed to beat his teammate at Kansas on July 4 in the second-closest finish in IRL history.

That victory by 0.0051 seconds measured about seven inches, and Rice said someone else can calculate the distance of this one, although the time difference of 0.0306 seconds would suggest about 40 inches. He plans to enjoy starting on the pole for tonight’s Firestone Indy 200 in search of his third victory this year.

“We’re starting Nashville exactly how we finished Kansas, so it’s super close again, and I think tomorrow night’s going to be a really exciting race,” Rice said.

Meira was the first driver on the track in qualifying, and he didn’t waste any time posting the fastest lap after being the quickest in the first two practice sessions. But with points leader Tony Kanaan and Rice still to qualify, Meira didn’t think he would stay on the pole.

“Being the first one out I think hurt. But again, it’s the draw. It’s the way it is,” he said. “One time we’re going to be first. One time we’re going to be last. It’s just a matter of patience.”

Still, his speed held up until Rice went out as the next-to-last qualifier. Rice wasn’t fast enough on his first lap, then he got his Honda up to speed on the second to take the pole away from Meira in what he called a team effort.

Honda engines filled the top five spots with Bryan Herta starting third followed by Andretti Green Racing teammates Dan Wheldon and Kanaan.

This will be the IRL’s fourth race on the 1.33-mile, D-shaped oval.

Time not right for merger, open-wheel rivals say

Indianapolis — A single series would be best for open-wheel racing, but Champ Car and the Indy Racing League believe this is not the right time for a merger.

But a future resolution remains a possibility, both sides said Friday.

Representatives from both series met in person at least twice earlier this week with team owner Roger Penske, who last month urged them to consider unification, spokesmen for Champ Car and the IRL said.

Champ Car and the IRL said in a joint statement that no more meetings were planned though “both parties believe that each has a better understanding of where common ground exists.”

IRL spokesman John Griffin said the meetings gave both sides a better understanding of each other’s business objectives. He also said it was fair to say that the door to unification remained “somewhat open.”

“It’s definitely not cemented shut,” Champ Car spokesman Eric Mauk said.

Sprague breaks speed mark

Madison, Ill. — Jack Sprague broke the Gateway International Raceway qualifying record Friday and took the pole position for today’s NASCAR truck series race. Sprague’s Chevrolets lapped the 1 1/4-mile track at 133.227 mph in qualifying for the Ram Tough 200. The old mark of 133.093 mph was set by Stacy Compton in 1999.

F1 president not retiring

London — Max Mosley withdrew his resignation as president of Formula One’s governing body Friday at the urging of the FIA Senate. Mosley, the head of the International Automobile Federation for 10 years, changed his mind just two weeks after saying he would step down at the end of the season in October.