Scott Sharp didn't need any help this time. When Sharp turned the fastest lap during the first six days of practice for the May 27 Indianapolis 500, he laughed it off, saying he had gotten a big aerodynamic tow from another car and he thought Greg Ray still was the guy to beat for the pole. On Saturday, Sharp was all alone on the 2{-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval and raised the bar too high even for Ray, the Indy Racing League's dominant qualifier. The 33-year-old Sharp had a four-lap, 10-mile average of 226.037 mph, with laps ranging from 225.783 to 226.423 _ easily the fastest among the 27 qualifiers on the first of three days of time trials for the 85th Indy classic. "I saw that (2)25.7 on the first lap and then when I saw the 26.1 on the next lap, I said, "Okay, this is the lap,' " Sharp said. "We did a 26.3 and I said to myself, "I'll carry this thing in sideways if I have to.' " Sharp earned his third career pole, winning between $100,000 and $150,000 in cash and prizes. Ray, who won the Indy pole last year at 223.471 mph and has won an Indy Racing League-record 11 poles overall, was far down in the draw for qualifying positions. When he finally moved onto the track, he knew exactly what it would take to knock Sharp off the top. Knowing that each car is allowed up to three attempts, the fast-moving Texan, who led the speed charts most of the week and had several laps better than 226, called off the run after a disappointing lap of 224.862. A year ago, an early wave-off worked for Ray when he came out late in the day and knocked Juan Montoya off the pole. Team owner John Menard was hoping the same strategy would work this time. "It would have given us a nice solid place in the field, but we want the pole (or) at least be in the front row," Menard said. He got part of his wish as Ray led a late flurry of activity in the seven-hour qualifying session with a four-lap run averaging 225.194 and wound up in the middle of the front row, between Sharp and Robby Gordon, another late qualifier at 224.994. The return of Roger Penske, the most successful team owner ever with 10 Indy poles and the same number of wins, got off to a great start with Gil de Ferran _ reigning champion of the rival CART series _ and Helio Castroneves qualifying solidly. Arie Luyendyk, the two-time race winner and three-time pole winner who is ending a one-year retirement, started the qualifying session with a 224.257 run. Then de Ferran one-upped him. The Brazilian driver, whose only previous Indy start, in 1995 for Jim Hall, ended in a crash on the first turn of the first lap, bumped Luyendyk off the top spot with a 224.406. Both de Ferran and Luyendyk were eventually pushed back to the second row, along with Sharp's Kelley Racing teammate, Mark Dismore (224.964). The third row included NASCAR star Tony Stewart (224.248) _ driving here for Ganassi _ Jeff Ward (224,222), who finally made it on his third attempt, and Robbie Buhl (224.213). CVS PHARMACY 200: Jason Keller sped by series points leader Kevin Harvick on the 185th lap to win the Busch Grand National event in Loudon, N.H. "I had tears rolling down my cheeks the last 10 laps," Keller said. "I couldn't help but think about Adam. This whole deal, I want to dedicate to Adam." Keller's emotional victory came one year to the day after Adam Petty was killed while practicing at New Hampshire International Speedway. Then, less than two months later, Kenny Irwin was killed in a crash in the same third turn during practice for a Winston Cup race. "This was a tough racetrack for me to come back to," said Keller, who finished third last year. "All those emotions were playing through my mind all week. I got to be real good buddies with Adam. I know he was looking out for me with that big smile he always had for me. This was a real special race for me." AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX: Three-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya, the rookie driver many predict will be his successor one day, had the front on the grid for today's race in Spielberg. Schumacher won the pole in his Ferrari with a lap on the 2.68-mile A1-Ring circuit in 1 minute, 09.562 seconds. Montoya close behind in his Williams. DARLINGTON 200: Bobby Hamilton will go down in history as the first driver to win a Craftsman Truck event at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway after winning the rain-shortened race. Hamilton started from the third spot and worked his way to the front three laps into the race, which was stopped twice because of rain before officials stopped it for good on Lap 135. Fellow Winston Cup veteran Ken Schrader was second, followed by points leader Scott Riggs. MORGAN DIES: Paul Morgan, 52, the racing engine designer who co-founded Ilmor Engineering, was killed when the plane he was piloting crashed in England. He was a partner with Mario Illien, Roger Penske and Mercedes-Benz in an alliance that prepared some of the most powerful engines in Indy-car racing. "The news today was just devastating," Penske said.