Brack turns in fastest lap time
But, the former Indy 500 champ will have to settle for starting 23rd.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Former Indy 500 winner Kenny Brack got his comeback off the ground in a big way Saturday, qualifying for the May 29 race with a faster speed than pole sitter Tony Kanaan.
When the 39-year-old Swede stepped out of his car following a four-lap, 10-mile qualifying effort of 227.598 mph, defending 500 winner Buddy Rice -- the man he replaced in the cockpit of the No. 15 Rahal Letterman Racing entry -- was waiting there to give Brack a big hug.
Missed opening day runs
But Brack, coming back from serious injuries in a crash at Texas Motor Speedway in October 2003, will have to settle for starting 23rd in the 33-car field for the Memorial Day weekend race after missing the opening day of qualifications last week.
"I don't think the starting position will make a difference," Brack said. "I think having a good race car is what matters. I am just relieved we're in the field and I'm also glad for the team. They have had a real tough month, but they gave me the chance to shine a little bit."
First time back since crash
It will be his first Indy Racing League start since the devastating crash in which he broke both ankles, a thigh, his back and ribs. One ankle was crushed, and Brack spent three months in hospitals recovering and rehabilitating.
His performance Saturday was the culmination of all the hours of physical therapy and training he has put in over the past 18 months.
About his qualifying effort, which included the fastest lap of the month at 227.940, he said: "It wasn't perfect, but it was plenty good enough."
Kanaan led 22 qualifiers last Sunday with a speed of 227.566, locking up the top starting spot for the 500-mile race. Brack didn't even arrive at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway until Tuesday, called by team co-owner Bobby Rahal to replace the injured Rice -- ironically, the driver who replaced him last year.
Rice, who started from the pole last year, was expected to be a strong contender for both the pole and the race win again this year before he crashed during practice on May 10.
Despite spending one night in the hospital with a concussion and a back injury, Rice was expected to be back in his Honda-powered Panoz this week, ready to join teammates Danica Patrick and Vitor Meira in the race.
Instead, doctors discovered a partially torn spinal ligament in his neck, forcing Rahal Letterman to find a replacement.
Brack got the call.
Brack won the 1998 IRL championship and the 1999 Indy 500 while driving for A.J. Foyt.
Foyt, who struggled to get his son Larry and grandson A.J. IV qualified Saturday, was smiling after watching Brack's qualifying effort.
"I'm real proud of the boy," Foyt said. "He's just an awesome driver. To come back the way he did, it's great. He was hurt pretty bad."
Ten more qualify
Ten more drivers posted qualifying speeds Saturday, leaving one spot open for today's final day of time trials.
Ryan Briscoe came back from a crash during a qualifying attempt last week to post a four-lap average of 224.080. He was followed by Patrick Carpentier at 222.803, Ed Carpenter at 221.439, Jaques Lazier at 221.228, A.J. Foyt IV at 220.442, Marty Roth at 219.497, Larry Foyt at 219.396, Jeff Ward at 218.714 and Jimmy Kite, filling in for injured rookie Paul Dana, at 218.565.
Arie Luyendyk Jr., who passed his rookie test Saturday before brushing the wall with his right rear tire, remained as the only driver assigned to a car going into today.
Although there is no certainty the field will be filled, there remains the slim possibility of the slowest qualifiers being bumped from the lineup today if any deals for new car-driver combinations can be made in time.
The last time fewer than 33 cars started at Indy was in 1947, when 30 took the green flag.