Westbrook Claims Detroit Prototype Pole

Photo: Brian Cleary/bcpix.com

Richard Westbrook saved the best for last, as the Spirit of Daytona driver claimed a crucial pole position for Saturday’s Chevrolet Sports Car Classic.

Westbrook took his No. 90 Corvette DP to the top spot with less than three minutes on the clock but was beaten by the No. 1 Extreme Speed Motorsports HPD ARX-03b of Ryan Dalziel, who posted a 1:25.029 in the dying stages of the heated 15-minute session.

The GM factory driver, however, found even more speed out of his Coyote-built DP, reeling off a 1:25.011 lap time on his final lap to take the pole back, in the Detroit-based manufacturer’s home race.

It marked Westbrook’s first TUDOR United SportsCar Championship pole, with he and co-driver Michael Valiante in prime position to pull off their first win of the season tomorrow.

Dalziel and co-driver Scott Sharp, who also have yet to visit victory lane in 2014, will start alongside the Corvette DP in second, with the Scot’s time only 0.018 seconds slower than Westbrook’s pole-winning lap.

Championship leader Christian Fittpaldi qualified his No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP in third, ahead of the Olivier Pla-driven No. 42 OAK Racing Morgan-Nissan, which made it two P2 cars inside the top-four.

Completing the top-five was the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP of Jordan Taylor, who edged out Friday morning pace-setter, Ozz Negri, by 0.190 seconds.

The top ten overall and in the Prototype class was rounded out by Johannes van Overbeek (ESM), Memo Rojas (Ganassi), Boris Said (Marsh), and Joel Miller (SpeedSource).

Rojas topped the time charts early but spun his Ford EcoBoost-powered Riley, while Fittipaldi sustained damage to the nose of his Corvette DP, which appeared to effect both of their runs.

The Chevrolet Sports Car Classic takes the green Saturday at 12:10 p.m. ET with FOX Sports 1 coverage beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET.

RESULTS: Qualifying

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John