INDY 500 Owners, drivers scramble to fill out 33-car field

Lots of action was going on just 48 hours before final qualifying.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Less than 48 hours before the final qualifying session, teams scrambled Friday to fill the field for the Indianapolis 500.
Roger Penske's team leased one of its eight cars to Sam Schmidt Motorsports, driver Richie Hearn switched teams and Panther Racing quickly found a replacement for him.
The flurry gave the speedway 33 driver-car combinations -- enough to fill the grid for the race May 25.
"Obviously, we're very interested in putting 33 in the show, just like everybody else," Penske Racing president Tim Cindric said.
Schmdit's deal, for Gil de Ferran's backup car, is for one race and was signed shortly after practice ended Friday. Cindric declined to comment on the pricetag, but the deal set off a flurry of moves.
Hearn quickly agreed to drive for Schmidt just hours after Panther Racing owner John Barnes said Hearn would drive his team's third car.
Several possible replacements, including Max Pappas and George Mack, were seen in Barnes' garage, but neither got the ride.
"We're going with Robby McGehee," Barnes said. "We're going to go get him fitted for a seat and he should be on the track (today)."
Ended speculation
For much of the week, the discussion around Indianapolis Motor Speedway focused on whether the race might have fewer than 33 drivers for the first time since 1947.
All of this week's moves might have put that issue to rest.
Alex Barron joined Mo Nunn Racing on Wednesday, replacing two-time Indy winner Arie Luyendyk in the cockpit. Brazil's Airton Dare joined A.J. Foyt's team and John Menard's team added another Brazilian, rookie Vitor Meira.
Indy Racing League officials said they never doubted the traditional grid of 11 three-car rows would be filled when the final round of qualifying ends Sunday. Twenty-four cars qualified last weekend.
"The deadline for every team in garage area is the last 30 minutes or hour of Sunday afternoon," league spokesman John Griffin said before the Penske deal was announced.
On the track Friday, rookies again posted the fastest speeds.
New Zealander Scott Dixon had the fastest lap of the day at 229.966 mph, and Japanese Tora Takagi was second-fastest at 228.657 after leading the field the last two days. Team Rahal's Jimmy Vasser was the fastest of six non-qualifiers at 228.275, and there were two minor accidents.
Young Foyt uninjured
A.J. Foyt IV was uninjured when his qualified car slid through the first turn and into the outside wall before stopping between the first and second turns. Foyt is driving for his grandfather, four-time Indy winner A.J. Foyt, and at 18 is the youngest-known qualifier in Indy history.