Not content, Castro-Neves, the last driver to make a run, nearly threw away the effort by trying too hard on his second lap. He stood on the throttle too early after Turn 1 and barely held onto his car in Turn 2. I thought I better take a chance, because you never know. If I did that lap, it would have been fantastic. Castro-Neves' speed is down more than 16 mph from the qualifying record set last year by Patrick Carpentier because of aerodynamic rules changes aimed at slowing the cars in the corners.
Smaller wings provide less downforce and consequently less grip on the racetrack.
Defending Milwaukee champion Jimmy Vasser qualified second at 168.200 in a Reynard-Honda. Vasser, the 1996 series champion, has not started on the front row since the '98 season finale. Although Vasser sits 11th in the standings with a top finish of fourth, he insisted he didn't approach the weekend any differently. The only change is that so far he hasn't encountered any bad luck. It's been amazing, having little problems in the middle of a session, mysterious things with the setup.