Home >  Sports >  Auto Racing

Sunday, May 19, 2002

From wire and local dispatches

Ready or not, the last chance to qualify for the 86th Indianapolis 500 is here.

With nine of the 33 starting spots still unfilled for the race May 26, 16 nonqualified drivers worked at building speed yesterday, the last full day of practice before the third and final round of time trials.

One driver who didn't practice on the 2 1/2-mile oval was two-time Indy winner Arie Luyendyk.

"It seems to me like the wind direction has changed every day for the last three days," Luyendyk said. "I don't see the value in running today and tuning the car to these conditions.

"It's more important to practice Sunday morning and tune the car to the conditions then."

Winds gusting to 26 mph and unseasonable temperatures in the low 50s made yesterday another tough day on the historic track. The forecast for today called for highs in the upper 50s, winds at 5-10 mph and a 30 percent chance of afternoon rain.

Bruno Junqueira was the fastest of 24 drivers who qualified May 11, the first day of time trials. He set the pace with a four-lap average of 231.342 mph.

Billy Boat remained the slowest qualifier in the tentative field at 226.589 when the session last Sunday was rained out.

At the time, that speed, as well as the 226.781 by Michael Andretti, appeared very much in jeopardy of being bumped out by faster qualifiers once the field is filled.

Led by Airton Dare at 227.015 and his A.J. Foyt Racing teammate Greg Ray at 226.756, the top 11 speeds yesterday were posted by nonqualified drivers.

Other races

Stacker2 200: Rain washed out qualifying for the NASCAR Busch Series race in Nazareth, Pa., giving points leader Jack Sprague the pole for the race today. The rainout was the third in the past four Busch series events, with Sprague starting his Chevrolet from the pole in each race.

Rocky Mountain 200: Jason Leffler won the pole position for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race with a fast lap of 132.460 mph. Teammate Ted Musgrave was second-fastest at 131.047 on the one-mile oval at Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colo.

Grand Prix of Sonoma: Tom Kristensen waited for the right opportunity then nailed a flying lap to take the pole for the American Le Mans Series event at Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. Kristensen turned a lap in 1 minute, 22.615 seconds at 110.246 mph on the 2.53-mile, 12-turn circuit.

EasyCare 100: Jeff Fultz won a door-to-door battle with points leader Frank Kimmel to win the Automobile Racing Club event at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. Richard Mitchell, a former champion at Motordrome Speedway, finished fifth. Norm Benning of Level Green was 22nd.