Champ Car Stars Wilson and Rahal on Daytona Pole

When the green flag drops Saturday afternoon for the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, the car to be co-driven in the race by Champ Car World Series standouts Justin Wilson and Graham Rahal will pace the field for the start of the annual twice-around-the-clock classic.

When qualifying ended Thursday afternoon at the Daytona International Speedway, the No. 61 Ford/Riley entered by Michael Shank Racing was on the pole with a lap time around the 3.56-mile circuit of 1:40.793, good for an average speed of 127.151 miles per hour. Wilson and Rahal will be sharing the car with Brazil’s Oswaldo Negri and Mark Patterson of the United States.

Wilson, who finished second in this race two years ago, will be making his second start at Daytona while 19-year-old Champ Car counterpart will be making his third start in the race that his father, Bobby Rahal, won in 1981.

"It seems like we have a real good car," said Rahal. “I ran in traffic during the day and it was solid. I'm not worried a bit about the car in the race. We just need to stay out of trouble and avoid the bad luck that can happen and, if we do that, I think we'll have a good chance to do well."

Ryan Dalziel, a Champ Car rookie in 2007, will start eighth in the SAMAX Racing Pontiac/Riley while Jimmy Vasser, co-owner PKV Racing and 1996 Champ Car titlist, will start 11th in the Gainsco Racing Pontiac/Riley.

Jan Heylen, another veteran of Champ Car, will co-drive a Synergy Racing Porsche GTE that will start sixth in the GT class. Robert Doornbos, 2007 Champ Car "Rookie of the Year", will qualify on Friday.