How many cars can qualify for the Indianapolis 500?”
The 33 starters will depart Indianapolis at 7 a.m. Monday May 17th 2009. The entire field will pose for photographs in the traditional 11 rows of three at Herald Square, home of the flagship Macy’s department store. All drivers will participate in a media luncheon with more than 100 national and international correspondents.
Bump Day 2008, and Buddy Lazier’s car is poised at the head of the qualifying line with 13 minutes left in the session to set the 33-car lineup for the Indianapolis 500. An attempt 17 minutes earlier produced a top lap of 217.272 mph – not on pace to crack the grid – and was cut short. So it was all or nothing for 1996 500 Mile Race winner Lazier, who acknowledged holding his breath much of the hair-raising (and crowd-pleasing) effort. He qualified 32nd at 219.015 mph and gained a significant amount of consolation a week later by finishing 17th. “I would sure not like to be there on Sunday at the last minute trying to get into the race,” Lazier said on the eve of Third Day Qualifications for the 2009 Indy 500. Sorry, Buddy, but you’ll have to bump your way in again. Eleven drivers filled the field Saturday, May 16, with three drivers expected to make qualifying attempts – as many as three per car – on Bump Day. Lazier, who recorded a four-lap average of 216.487 mph in the No. 91 Hemelg
