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Saturday, May 12

Waiting game keeps drivers guessing
Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS – When Gil de Ferran reached his post-qualifying news conference Saturday, the usual question was immediately posed: What does it feel like to be on the Indianapolis 500 pole?

But as so often happens at Indianapolis, de Ferran's date with destiny was short-lived.

Just as he began speaking, Scott Sharp rolled onto the track for his qualifying run, and almost instantly de Ferran knew the pole position that was his then was about to vanish.

"What was that speed?" de Ferran asked, after answering just three questions.

When told Sharp went 221.640 mph on his warmup lap, de Ferran knew he was in trouble.

"Well, I guess I'm not the polesitter anymore," he said with a laugh.

As de Ferran continued taking questions, he couldn't help but keep his eyes focused on a nearby television set that broadcast Sharp's run.

With each ensuing lap, it became clearer that he was about to lose the pole, and finally, after the third lap, de Ferran conceded defeat.

"Start congratulating him," de Ferran said after Sharp turned in a 226.020 and then a 226.423 on the third qualifying lap. "Two-hundred twenty-six by himself is fast. Wow! I'm not the polesitter anymore."

As de Ferran was wrapping up the news conference Sharp pulled through pit lane, drawing a loud roar from the crowd after beating de Ferran's speed by about 1.6 mph.

Mileage mistake
Arie Luyendyk had been among the fastest cars all week in practice.

But when it came time for Luyendyk to qualify Saturday, he knew there was a problem.

No, the computers didn't reveal anything, but Luyendyk just had a sense something was wrong. After his qualifying run, Luyendyk, a former two-time Indy 500 winner and three-time polesitter, knew what went awry.

"We had a qualifying motor in there, and it appears we ran a few too many miles than we wanted to on it," Luyendyk said. "That's a problem you have when you're running with a qualifying motor."

Paying his way
When Dick Simon called Roberto Guerrero on Thursday night, requesting Guerrero's advise on how to properly set up Stephan Gregoire's car, Guerrero didn't hesitate to race back to Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

It was then Guerrero learned what his payoff would be -- driving Simon's No. 7 car.

Saturday, just one day after getting the ride, Guerrero qualified for his 16th Indy 500 start with a speed of 220.054.

Guerrero would have liked a slightly better speed, but he couldn't have been happier with the result.

"It's good to be back," he said. "Sometimes you get greedy here, and I am over the moon for getting back into the race.

"A couple of days ago, I was around without a ride and to be a first-day qualifier, you couldn't ask for anything more."

Hard day's night
One day after Davey Hamilton crashed hard near the end of practice he was back on the track, trying to qualify for his sixth Indy start.

Hamilton was taken to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis for a CAT scan Friday night after he crashed just 12 minutes before the end of practice.

"It was a big hit, but I'm fine," he said Saturday.

The No. 99 car, owned by Sam Schmidt, was not in as good of shape, thoguh. Hamilton's crew spent Friday night removing the motor from the damaged car and putting it in his backup car.

When Hamilton finally hit the track Saturday, he just wanted to qualify the car and give everyone else a much-needed break.

"It's been crazy in the garage every night," Hamilton said. "These guys have been working way too hard. I just want to do my part and find good enough numbers to give these guys a day off."

Pit stops

The two-hour morning practice session was stopped after Eliseo Salazar crashed for the second time in two days. Salazar, driving A.J. Foyt's No. 14 car, did a three-quarter spin, hit the outside wall and skidded to a stop at the end of Turn 1. Salazar climbed out of the car and was cleared to drive.

McCormack Motorsports announced that Jimmy Kite will drive its No. 30 car at Indianapolis, replacing rookie Brandon Erwin. Kite has three Indy 500 starts. Erwin will resume driving the No. 30 car June 9 at Texas Motor Speedway.

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