RACING This year's Indy 500 may have too many cars

Many racers in strong qualifiers have led to what could be a healthy crowd.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- An old tradition could become this year's new twist at Indianapolis -- bumping.
The question buzzing around Gasoline Alley the last two years -- whether there would be enough cars to fill a 33-car starting field -- has been replaced by another: Could somebody get left out?
"I suspect you're going to have at least a couple of cars, two, three, something like that," said Lee Kunzman, team manager for Ron Hemelgarn.
No, it's not like old times when dozens of drivers sometimes went home before race day. However, it is progress after two years of scrambling to find starting combinations.
Twenty-two spots were filled during Sunday's first qualifying session, and in the frantic final hour, three cars were knocked out. Alex Barron qualified again later, and Jaques Lazier and Patrick Carpentier will have three more chances both Saturday and Sunday to make the field.
At least 11 drivers -- enough to fill the field if nobody crashes -- hope to qualify this weekend. If all 11 make it through qualifying, a last-minute deal could give race organizers 34 cars and a traditional Bump Day.
"I think that would be good," team owner Greg Beck said. "I thought [Sunday] was pretty interesting, the way it all unfolded."
Beck's car still needs to qualify and, like Hemelgarn's team, is working on an abbreviated schedule.
Rush to qualify
Beck, who has been bringing cars to the 21/2-mile oval since 1978, hired 23-year-old Arie Luyendyk Jr., son of the two-time Indy winner, Wednesday. Luyendyk hopes to join the list of father-son combinations who have started for the race.
Kunzman has replaced injured rookie Paul Dana, who broke two bones in his back in a crash last Friday, with Jimmy Kite in the No. 91 car. Dana doesn't need surgery, but doctors will not let him drive the rest of the month.
Thus, Beck and Kunzman will spend much of their remaining time getting the new drivers acquainted with the track and their teams. Thursday's rained-out practice cost teams one more day of valuable practice time, adding to their hectic pace.
"I call it teething, and anytime you have teething that can be a problem," Kunzman said. "But you've got to do what you've got to do. Sometimes when you get your back up against a wall, you do things quicker and better."
Race drama
There also are some compelling story lines.
The biggest is the return of Kenny Brack, the 1999 Indy champ who has not raced in an Indy car since a crash at Texas in October 2003. Brack spent three months in the hospital but decided to make a comeback after defending Indy winner Buddy Rice was ruled out of the race.
Rice, last year's pole-sitter, injured his back and had a concussion in a crash last week. Doctors later found he had a partially torn ligament in his neck and recommended rest. Speedway medical director Dr. Henry Bock said Rice will be reassessed in about three weeks.
Brack and Patrick Carpentier each logged 129 laps in Wednesday's practice. No other drivers did more. Brack also was the fastest non-qualifier, going 225.774 mph Wednesday.
"We've got to get in the show," Brack said. "But I think if you start 23rd or 33rd, over 500 miles, it's going to be a very marginal difference."
Two Foyts also will try to extend their family tradition. A.J. Foyt IV, grandson of the four-time winner and the youngest IRL driver at age 20, is trying to make his third Indy start while Larry Foyt hopes to make his second career start on the track that helped make his father famous. Foyt's team also has a third car entered, so if Foyt hired another driver, that would give race organizers 34 cars -- meaning someone would be bumped.