Field Set for 84th Indy 500

Bump Day is over, and the field for the 84th running of the Indianapolis 500 is set. Looking over the field, several things caught my eye. Did you know that this is the first Indy 500 in history that will have two female drivers in the lineup? Sarah Fisher, the 19 year old rookie, who was featured earlier in this site, will start on the inside of row 7. On Saturdy, she drove her #15 Dallara - Aurora to a four lap average speed of 220.237 m.p.h. Joining her late Sunday was her friend and mentor, Lyn St. James, who put her # 7 G Force-Aurora into the middle of row 11, with an average speed of 218.826 m.p.h. Also of interest is the fact that these two women represent the oldest and youngest qualifiers for this year's race.

This year's field also features the return two-time winner, Al Unser, Jr. to the Speedway after an absence of five years. "Little Al", qualified his Oldsmobile powered G Force on the outside of row 6, with a speed of 220.293 m.p.h. Unfortunately, another of the three Unser's entered in the "500", Robbie, was unable to qualify. Johnny Unser, however, was able to make the field, with a speed of 219.066 m.p.h., putting him on the outside of row 10.

The only other racing family to qualify for this year's race was the Lazier's. Brothers Buddy and Jaques both qualified their Auroras for the race with speeds of 220.482 m.p.h. for Buddy and 220.675 m.p.h. for Jacques. Their father, Bob Lazier also drove in the 1981 "500".

This was also the first race in several years that CART drivers have entered the race. Last year's CART Champion, Juan Montoya, qualified second behind IRL defending champion, Greg Ray. Ray won the PPG Pole, with an average speed of 223.471 m.p.h., while Montoya qualified at 223.372 m.p.h. This year's race should provide extra interest for many fans, since it represents a possible healing of the wounds that split Indy Car Racing into two factions. It's a good starting point which should return the Indianapolis 500 to a position that brings the best drivers to the Speedway in May.

Here is the complete Starting Field for this year's race.

Row 1
1. Greg Ray, No. 1, Dallara-Aurora, 223.471
2. r-Juan Montoya, No. 9T, G Force-Aurora, 223.372
3. Eliseo Salazar, No. 11, G Force-Aurora, 223.231
Row 2
4. Robby Gordon, No. 32, Dallara-Aurora, 222.885

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