Everything is status quo now that we have the McDonalds car at the front of the pack.  

Sebastien Bourdais, four-time Champ Car champion and last year’s GPLB winner, is now in Formula One, and Newman/Hass/Lanigan Racing replaced him this season with Justin Wilson. The tall Englishman is a brand new father, and sits atop the Champ Car heap after the first day of qualifying with a 1:07.356 time that beats Bourdais’ pole-winning time from last year.

No one knows how a race will run until the tires touch track, but when they decided to run cars on Thursday (something that didn’t happen last year) it made sure the track would be good and warmed up for Champ Car Qualifying.  And Wilson wasn’t the only one to take advantage of the great conditions.

Here are three American boys who’ll be in Wilson’s rear view all weekend…

1) #6 Graham Rahal, New Albany, Ohio (1:08.172)
He became the youngest winner of an IRL race two weeks ago in St. Petersburg, and after a few adjustments to the car following morning practice, he sits in the fifth.  Rahal, also a member of the Newman/Hass/Lanigan Racing, ran into a little trouble with Australian Will Powers, when Powers brake checked in front of him.  Rahal pulled along side Powers, and waved the back of his hand as if to say, “Hey, what’s the ‘matter, you?”  A move he most definitely learned from his father.

2) #29 Alex Figge, Denver, Colorado (1:08.549)
Once a Los Angeles local, Figge made his name in the American Le Mans Series in 2005.  He sits in twelfth and looks to make a charge on Saturday.  In only his second year in Champ Car, this is Figge’s fourteenth race with the series for Pacific Coast Motorsports, which is owned by his father, Tom.  Click here to see a video of Alex showing us around his car.

3) #12 Jimmy Vasser, Las Vegas, Nevada (1:09.066)
After a two-year hiatus, Vasser is back, and needs to make like Tiger Woods on a Saturday and move.  Born in Canoga Park, the veteran has ten victories in the series, and was Champ Car champion in 1996.  He finished seventh and fourth in the 2001-02 Indy 500, and is now Co-owner of PKV Racing.  All that experience should keep him in the hunt on Sunday.