MONACO — Formula One championship leader Jenson Button earned the pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix.
The Brawn GP driver will start first on the grid for the fourth time today after setting a fastest lap of 1 minute, 14.902 seconds around the famous street circuit Saturday.
Ferrari starts on the front row for the first time this season after Kimi Raikkonen finished 0.025 of a second behind. Rubens Barri- chello of Brawn GP and Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull make up the second row, with Ferrari’s Felipe Massa in and Nico Rosberg of Williams filling the third row.
Lewis Hamilton of McLaren, who won in Monaco last year, crashed during the first session to place 16th. But he was demoted to last on the grid for the first time in his career because the team had to change his gearbox.
Button, who has won four of the first five F1 races, and Barrichello also started first and third at the previous Spanish GP, where they went on to lead Brawn GP to a 1-2 finish in Barcelona.
Bliss wins Nationwide race
CONCORD, N.C. — Mike Bliss raced to his first NASCAR Nationwide Series victory since 2004, catching a break to claim the rain-shortened event at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
Bliss, who started from the back of the field, took the lead because he was in the right position when the caution flag came out with 39 laps to go.
The Associated Press
