Indy 500 Practice Ends Up a Scary Place to Be

Two spectacular accidents, one triggered by the other, gave a sparse crowd a scare during Friday’s final qualifying preparations for the Indianapolis 500.

Rookie Paul Dana lost control of his Dallara-Toyota in the second turn and careened into the SAFER barrier before spinning down the backstretch backward, with the rear of his car on fire. The accident was much the same, and in the same place on the track, as the ones that Buddy Rice, last year’s pole and race winner, had Wednesday and Darren Manning had Thursday.

Sam Hornish Jr., behind Dana, went on the high side to miss the spinning car and appeared to be clear until he ran over debris, sending the red and white Marlboro Dallara-Toyota airborne like a hydroplane in a blow-over. The car soared about 30 feet in the air before coming down almost on its top, then skidded to a stop upside down in the grass.

Remarkably, Hornish crawled out with no noticeable injuries. Dana was taken to Methodist Hospital, where he was found to have a spinal fracture -- there is no paralysis -- and a concussion. He will miss the race.

Rice was at the track but is undergoing therapy for a back injury and will not try to qualify today.

Said Hornish, one of Penske’s drivers: “We were working on a [simulated] qualifying run and I went into Turn 2 as the yellow light came on. I started to get out of the throttle because I was close to the 91 car [Dana] as it hit the wall. I tried to drive between the debris and the wall, and I think I ran over a large piece of his gearbox.

“It was definitely the wildest ride I’ve ever had. All I saw was sky, fence and ground.

“It’s a shame because the ... car was running real well. It was our backup car, and we were thinking about qualifying it, but now we’ll have to go back to our primary car and try and get it ready.”

Hornish’s crash, however, could be a good omen for the Penske camp. Twice, Penske’s drivers have crashed on the final practice day -- Tom Sneva in 1977 and Rick Mears in 1991 -- and then won the pole.

As safety crews were cleaning the track, a severe thunderstorm engulfed the speedway in water and ended practice about four hours early.

Tomas Scheckter, driving a Chevrolet-powered Dallara, earlier had the fastest lap of the week, 227.804 mph. This will be the final race for Chevrolet; GM has announced that it was leaving the IRL, and Indy, after this season.

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Bump Day, when the slowest qualified car could be bumped from the race’s starting lineup by a faster unqualified car on the final day of time trials, was once one of the most exciting days leading to “the greatest spectacle in racing.”

Then the unthinkable happened. There was no bumping in 2003, or last year. Worse, in 2004, not a single attempt was made to knock out the slowest car.

Hoping to regain some of the excitement, Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials have artificially created not one, but four Bump Day scenarios for this year’s qualifying procedure.

Today is Pole Day, when every entry will be given an opportunity to earn the No. 1 starting position for the 89th 500 on May 29.

In previous years, as many cars qualified on the first day as wanted. Last year, 22 raced their way into the field with their four-lap qualifying speeds around the 2.5-mile rectangular oval.

Today, only the 11 fastest will make the field. After 11 cars qualify, there will be bumping for what Roger Penske has called “the Elite Eleven.”

On Sunday, bumping will begin after 22 are qualified. On May 21, spots 23 through 33 will be determined.

Sunday, May 22, is designated as Bump Day, but it is unlikely there will be any cars left to bump with. Only 32 car-driver combinations are at the Speedway, and it is unlikely that more than a couple more will show up.

That’s not all.

For the first time, bumped cars can return for another attempt. Previously, if a car was knocked out, it was all over. Now, each car gets three attempts a day, so theoretically a car could get bumped 11 times in four days and still have one more attempt before 6 p.m. on Bump Day.

The rules even change from day to day. After today’s qualifying, the 11 qualifiers cannot be sidelined by qualifiers on Sunday or next Saturday. On Bump Day, the final day of qualifying, however, the rules revert to previous years. The first car out of the lineup will be the slowest car among the 33, no matter what day it was qualified.

Further complicating things, nearly every driver has a backup car, so theoretically, one could make six qualifying attempts a day in search of a better spot in the field.

Brian Barnhart, president and chief operating officer of the Indy Racing League, sanctioning body for the 500, acknowledges that the changes are being made in hopes of rekindling spectator interest. There was a time when qualifying days attracted as many as 100,000 spectators, but the numbers have dwindled.

“We think it gives fans what they want, and that’s some bumping on each of the four days of qualifying,” Barnhart said. “What we are trying to do is increase the drama and excitement for the fans. It also returns us to our traditional four days of qualifying.”

In a cost-cutting move last year, there were only three qualifying days.

Changes are not new to the speedway qualifying, Barnhard pointed out

“Qualifying for the 500 has evolved through the years, beginning with 1911, when the starting order was determined by the date when the entries were received,” he said.