With his eyes focused on wrapping up the 2003 CART Toyota Atlantic Championship title this weekend, rookie AJ Allmendinger extended his championship lead by another point after putting his car on the provisional pole for Sunday's Argent Mortgage Challenge at the Centrix Financial Grand Prix of Denver.

With a best lap of 1min 07.653secs (87.641 mph), Allmendinger obliterated the previous Toyota Atlantic track record around the 1.647-mile temporary street circuit, established by 2003 title rival Ryan Dalziel in the series' inaugural visit to the Mile High City last year. The top five drivers turned laps within one second of each other, and the top nine drivers turned laps quicker than the previous track record.

It was the 13th time this season that Allmendinger has earned a bonus championship point for being the fastest qualifier, adding to the six additional points he has gained for leading the most laps in each of his six race victories this season. The haul has contributed significantly to the 27-point lead he now holds over Dalziel, and makes the Scotsman's job of restricting the American to a 22-point advantage after Sunday's race - the maximum gap he needs to take the fight to the wire in Miami next month - all the harder.

"It's a brand new track for me, as I didn't race here last year, but fortunately enough, [team-mate] Aaron [Justus] did," the champion-elect commented, "He was really quick this morning, so I was able to talk to him a little bit and look at his data, so he was a huge help heading into qualifying to learn what I needed about the track.

"I'm proud of my crew, RuSPORT, the whole team - they're just doing a great job. I've been very happy with these two sessions, because, with me learning the track and trying to get the right set-up, we've been able to make great changes at the right times. I think we've worked both sessions, practice and qualifying, perfectly for the time
we used and the changes we made. All together right now, it's great.

"There's still some left in the car, there's some left in me, trying to figure out this track still. The most important thing is it's one more point towards the championship, which is basically what we're here for, which is trying to clinch the championship this weekend. It's very important, and I think it's a great start."

Dalziel's task was further hampered when Michael Valiante qualified second on the provisional grid. The Canadian has started inside the top four positions in each of his past five starts, including a pair of second place starting spots in the last three races. However, he goes into Saturday's final round of qualifying looking for his second career pole position and his first since starting on the inside of the front row at Trois-Rivieres last year.

"The car was great right out of the box this morning," Valiante said, "but, being on a hot track [this afternoon], it was just really a struggle. We put a new set of tyres on, and I'm not sure if it was the tyres or if it was a combination of things. It was a little frustrating, because we are faster than we showed in qualifying. Still, second isn't a
bad place to start this race."

Justus wound up only third quickest in the provisional session, having already shown his speed with second place in the morning practice session and by briefly leading the qualifying session. However, a light brush with the wall and a mechanical problem prevented him from advancing further up the grid. Nevertheless, Justus credited his previous experience at the track with his speed on the first day, and he expects to improve throughout the weekend. He has started inside the top five in each of the past five events.