By Bruce Martin SportsTicker Contributing Editor

INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- On a day that was supposed to be filled with high drama, Bruno Junqueira's opening act stole the show.

The CART driver from Brazil won the pole position Saturday for the 86th Indianapolis 500 with a four-lap average of 231.342 miles per hour in a G Force/Chevrolet.

Junqueira was the first driver to make a qualifying attempt at 12:02 p.m. EDT and none of the other 23 who qualified for the 33-car starting lineup was able to knock him off the pole.

"The car had pretty good handling," Junqueira said. "I did good laps, good average speed. Today the wind is blowing and turn 4 is really difficult. One thing with ovals is you must be patient. I have to be patient. The car was really good and everything worked really fine for me."

A member of Target/Chip Ganassi Racing, Junqueira became the first driver to win the pole as the first one out in qualifying since countryman Emerson Fittipaldi in 1990.

"There's more pressure because I don't know what time we have to do and how much to push," said Junqueira, who came to CART after serving as a test driver for the Williams/BMW Formula One team. "Maybe we pushed too much on the first lap. I could be more consistent. I think I did my best."

Junqueira finished fifth as a rookie in the 2001 Indianapolis 500. Ironically, when the team was planning this year's Indy 500 effort, Junqueira was not going to be one of the three drivers. The team was going to use CART driver Kenny Brack, Indy Racing League driver Jeff Ward and NASCAR Winston Cup driver Tony Stewart in qualifications.

Stewart decided he would not compete at Indy this year to concentrate on his Winston Cup effort.

"I've got experience and I had time to practice," Junqueira said. "I'm just trying to do my job. I have the experience. I know ovals. I still have a lot to learn."

Robbie Buhl was the second-fastest qualifier after waving off his first attempt. Later in the day, he turned a four-lap average of 231.033 mph in a G Force/Infiniti and will start in the middle of the front row.

Raul Boesel, who did not have a ride until Wednesday, put the Team Menard Dallara/Chevrolet on the outside of the front row with a four-lap average of 230.613 mph.

Twenty-four cars qualified Saturday. The second round of qualifying is set for Sunday at 1 p.m. EDT. Second-day qualifiers will line up from positions 25-33 even if their speeds are faster than the top 24 first-day qualifiers.

Bump Day is May 19.

Among the name drivers who did not make the field Saturday were CART drivers Paul Tracy and Dario Franchitti and two-time Indy 500 winner Arie Luyendyk.

Tracy crashed in Saturday morning's final practice session and his Team Green CART operation does not have a backup IRL car for the driver from Canada. Tracy stormed off the Indianapolis Motor Speedway property and did not return.

"We were struggling this morning and we didn't have the speed in the car," Tracy said. "We decided to make a change, really two or three changes at once. Then we went out and it was too much. The car just got away from me."

Tracy crashed at 10:54 a.m., just minutes from the end of Saturday morning's final practice. His Dallara/Chevrolet spun in the second turn and crashed into the barrier with the left rear of the car. Despite heavy damage to the vehicle, Tracy climbed out without medical assistance. He was treated for abrasions to his knees and heels.

Junqueira gave a sign of things to come in practice when he turned the top speed at 231.675 mph, followed by IRL rookie Tomas Scheckter at 231.662 mph in a Dallara/Infiniti and Buhl's 231.131 mph in a G Force/Infiniti.

Junqueira was first in line when qualifying began and ran laps of 231.635 mph, 231.506, 231.278 and 230.952 to take the pole. No other driver was able to knock him off the top spot on the scoring pylon, although Boesel and Buhl came very close.

Boesel ran a four-lap average of 230.613 mph for Team Menard, just three days after getting the ride for the injured P.J. Jones.

"It's almost like you can't believe what is happening right now," Boesel said. "For the time we had in the car, what we've achieved is unbelievable. To be here with this team and to be able to come together in a very short time was something I'm not sure anyone would have thought was possible."

Brack, the 1998 IRL champion and 1999 Indy 500 winner, was one of the favorites to start up front, but he pulled in after his first warmup lap. Franchitti waved off his attempt after three laps because he could not get above 226.680 mph for Team Green.

Buhl waved off his initial attempt after laps of 229.924 mph, 229.432 and 228.381. His team went to work to find more speed for a later attempt.

Defending Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves of Brazil also waved off his first attempt after laps of 229.515 mph and 229.418 for Marlboro Team Penske. The plan backfired when Castroneves ran slower laps on his second try. His four-lap average of 229.052 mph put him 13th on the grid.

"When we went out on our first run, it wasn't as fast as we would have liked, so we took a chance and waved it off and and came in to make a few changes," Castroneves explained. "Unfortunately, the car was slightly slower on my second attempt, and we had to take the time because we were concerned about the weather.

"I was surprised because it looked like the Marlboro Team Penske car was fast enough to win the pole based on how we've been running all week. It's too bad it didn't work out." Because of looming rain, qualifying was fast and furious as many teams rushed to make attempts. The original qualifying line was complete after 1996 winner Buddy Lazier qualified at 227.495 mph.

Buhl was ready to make his second attempt at taking the pole and nearly did it with a four-lap average of 231.033 mph.

"When we waved off the first run with a speed capable of making the race, that shows you the kind of confidence we had that we could improve," Buhl said. "It was a good call by team owner Dennis Reinbold. About the pole, you wonder because it was close but not quite special enough. We missed it just a little, and that's frustrating."

Buhl was the last serious threat to Junqueira, and when the 7 p.m. gun was fired to end qualifying, the second-year CART driver had earned his first Indy 500 pole.

"This was the longest seven hours of my life," Junqueira said. "I had a lot of confidence to be the first to go out. I didn't know exactly how the track was, and the car was just so good. I just kept it flat-out on the four laps and I got a very good average speed. I was pretty confident that speed would give me a good position, but I never knew if I could get the pole or not."

His patience off as Junqueira gave team owner Chip Ganassi his third Indy 500 pole. Fittipaldi won the pole in 1989 when Ganassi was co-owner of Patrick Racing and Arie Luyendyk took the pole in 1993.