Kanaan overcomes crash to make field at Indianapolis 500

INDIANAPOLIS — Tony Kanaan spent all weekend cramming to get into the Indianapolis 500.

He barely made it.

Two crashes in less than 24 hours sent Kanaan’s team scrambling to get the No. 11 car back together, and the 2004 IndyCar Series champ aced the biggest test of his career with a four-lap qualifying average of 224.072 mph to get his car on the starting grid with 30 minutes left in qualifications. All he had to do was wait to see if the speed would hold up, which it did.

“You live, you learn, and we crashed. Today was just a nightmare,” he said after getting the 32nd starting spot in the 33-car field. “Apart from that, the conditions were the hottest we’ve ever seen. The track was really slick, I saw everybody complaining. So it’s tough to keep it cool and say ‘Yeah, we’re just going to go out at 5.’ It’s the last day, you’re not in the field yet, crashed two cars and just stay cool.”

Fortunately for Michael Andretti, Kanaan did.

It’s the first time the Brazilian will start outside the first two rows in nine Indy starts, but after a dreadful weekend for Andretti Autosport, they’ll take it.

Kanaan wasn’t the only driver feeling Sunday’s tension.

Brazil’s Bruno Junqueira, the 2002 Indy pole winner, earned one of the nine open spots with an average of 225.662 — the day’s fastest qualifying speed. He’ll start 25th.

Kanaan’s teammate John Andretti was the first driver to qualify Sunday, averaging 224.518 mph. He’ll start 28th, the inside of Row 10.

Sarah Fisher’s four-lap average of 224.434 was the fastest of the record four women to make the lineup and will start 29th. The fifth woman, Venezuela’s Milka Duno, could not qualify on her three attempts Sunday.

“I think Helio (Castroneves) motivated me yesterday when he said he saw Jesus out there, so I had to go meet Him, too,” Fisher said.

The most stunning twists came in the final 15 minutes.

Paul Tracy, who lost the Indy 500 title in the disputed finish of 2002, withdrew his speed and failed to requalify. Fisher’s teammate, Jay Howard, did the same thing and wound up with the same shocking result. The two withdrawals put Saavedra in the 33rd starting spot despite crashing late in practice and not being able to requalify.

Joining Duno, Howard, Tracy on the sidelines will be Jaques Lazier, who was a late replacement for A.J. Foyt IV.