Rain washed out second-day qualifying for the Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway yesterday, forcing drivers like Buddy Rice, the 2004 racer winner, and Sarah Fisher, the first woman to win an Indy Car pole, to wait until next weekend to earn their way into the field of 33.
Eleven drivers booked their ticket to the 500 on Saturday, with Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon winning the pole for the May 25 race with a four-lap average speed of 226.366. Dixon of New Zealand will start on the inside of the first row with teammate Dan Wheldon of England and Team Penske's Ryan Briscoe to his outside.
Thunderstorms rocked the Indianapolis area yesterday, drenching the Speedway and forcing race officials to cancel qualifying shortly after noon.
On Saturday, fans should see a traffic jam at Indy, with teams running for positions 12 to 33. Sunday is Bump Day, when unqualified drivers may attempt to bump the slowest car from the field.
Considering that Rice and Fisher, along with drivers the caliber of Graham Rahal, Will Power, Darren Manning, Max Papis, Justin Wilson, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Oriol Servia have yet to get into the show, third-day qualifying promises to pack a solid punch.
“We were anxious to get out today,” said Rice, who drives for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. “But we'll be able to get in the field on Saturday.”
Fisher is confident of making the field next weekend, but says her new team will be concentrating on the race.
“Our focus will be on race trim completely now,” Fisher said. “Time's up. We don't have a whole lot of track time to be out there squandering around working on qualifying trim.”
Yesterday morning, Dixon wasn't getting carried away with his pole-winning performance as the front-row gang got together with reporters at the Speedway. Answering questions from the comfort of their director's chairs, Dixon, Wheldon and Briscoe seemed pleased they got their work done Saturday but admitted there is more to do.
“If we can make it a little easier for us at the start of the race, that's always nice,” Dixon said of starting from the pole, his first in six attempts here. “We'll just see what happens . . . but the big picture for us is still trying to win the 500 on the 25th.”
In 2007, Briscoe, the Australian driver from Sydney, finished fifth in the 500 for Luczo Dragon Racing, which is part-owned by Roger Penske's son, Jay.
This year, he has a full-time ride with the elder Penske and will be expected to improve on the 2007 effort.
“We're going to be going for the win this year and not just hanging back,” said Briscoe, a former Formula One test driver. “Not that I was hanging back last year. But last year we went into the race and ran a little more downforce than we probably needed to win the race, but that's what we put on the car to try to run solid from the front.”
Crewman remains hospitalized
Dale Coyne Racing crewman Charles Buckman remained in the hospital yesterday after Indy track officials initially announced he had been released. They said he would be held for continued observation.
Buckman was walking through the pits Friday when he was knocked to the ground by Danica Patrick's car as she pulled into her pit box. Buckman's left leg was struck by Patrick's left front tire and he went airborne. He was taken to the hospital with a concussion and cuts to his face and scalp.
He was released from intensive care Saturday, and speedway officials put out a release saying he had been released yesterday. About an hour later, they announced he would remain at Methodist Hospital for another day.
Massa wins in Turkey
Felipe Massa held off Lewis Hamilton to win his third straight Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul, earning Ferrari's fourth consecutive Formula One victory.
Massa finished 3.779 seconds ahead of McLaren driver Hamilton on the 58 laps at Istanbul Speed Park to continue a trend of winning from the pole position in Turkey. All four winners at the circuit have come from the pole.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
