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INDIANAPOLIS – Three days ago, rookie Nelson Philippe asked out of his No. 00 car for the first time in his career, admitting that he had “never been so scared in my life.”
He was uncomfortable because of a steering-wheel issue.
Philippe, from France, couldn’t figure out what his car was doing. Add that to his crash a week ago and his mind was a mess. He found out there was an issue with his steering wheel later Thursday.
On Saturday, he ended up in the Indianapolis 500 field, slipping into the last slot at 218.032 mph when fellow rookie Stanton Barrett couldn’t match his speed on the day’s last qualifying attempt.
“A lot more comfortable,” Philippe said. “It was really difficult for me to get back up to speed after my crash last Saturday. Overall, every time I get back in the car, it’s better. Thursday was very bad. Friday was pretty bad. (Saturday) morning was pretty good. So I was looking forward to it.”
Oriol Servia had talked with Rahal-Letterman Racing for “about eight years” about trying to drive one of its cars. It took a while, but last week the driver and team announced a deal that would bring the ownership team back to the series and the driver back to Indianapolis.
Servia qualified on the inside of Row 9 at 220.984 mph.
“It’s not easy nowadays,” Servia said. “It came a little late but still on time. We were both ready, the team and myself. It’s all the right ingredients, I think, to make it happen.”
Bruno Junqueira, a five-time Indianapolis 500 qualifier who held the pole in the 2002 race, finally picked up a ride Saturday morning when he signed with Conquest Racing and sponsor All Sport/Big Red. “At least I’m here,” Junqueira said in a statement. “In years past, I came here looking to start on the pole. Now, I’m looking to make the field.”
Junquiera finished as high as fifth in 2001 and 2003. He didn’t attempt to qualify Saturday, but he can slip into the field today during the final qualifying.
Milka Duno had an interesting first attempt at a qualifying run. She dropped from 219.626 on her first qualifying lap to 212.767 on the second lap and then didn’t finish the run. She ended up provisionally getting into the field in the No. 32 position at 218.040 mph.
