By alley - Sep 10, 2016, 2:41 PM ET

USF2000: Franzoni takes Monterey pole

Young Victor Franzoni, who holds a remote chance to earn the championship this weekend in Monterey, took pole position and earned an invaluable point for his efforts.

Third in the standings, Franzoni's lap of 1m26.3066s was well clear of championship leader Anthony Martin (-0.3405) and Parker Thompson (-0.4034), who holds second in the standings.

"It was great," the bubbly Brazilian said. "My team made the greatest car ever. The car is really fast. We need every point and we're going to fight for it. It's going to be a really good weekend for me."

With the top three in the championship qualifying in the top three, fireworks can be expected this afternoon. Rounding out the top five qualifiers, Jordan Lloyd (-0.4104) and Nikita Lastochkin (-0.6559) trailed Franzoni, Martin, and Thompson.

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UP NEXT: Race 1, 4:25 p.m. PT.