Drivers at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway were trying to solidify their spot in the starting field Sunday for the 2007 Indy 500.
While the Month of May is usually focused on the contenders of The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, it was the smaller teams that stole the spotlight this weekend. Starting spots 22 through 33 were filled by 6 p.m. Sunday and one driver was bumped out of the field entirely.
Here's a look at some of Bump Day's highlights.
Starting lineup full of comebacks
Al Unser Jr., 45, has won two 500's, but has struggled with alcohol addiction the past couple years. John Andretti, 44, hasn't seen the green flag on race day since 1994. And Richie Hearn, 36, watched last year's green flag drop from a bar.
John Andretti qualified Saturday in the 24th position with a speed of 221.756 mph. Unser Jr. also got into the field Saturday, a spot behind John Andretti on the inside of Row Nine with a speed of 220.876 mph.
Hearn waited until Bump Day to make it into the field of 33, qualifying in the 32nd position with a speed of 219.860 mph. After arriving at the Speedway Friday and barely getting into a car before qualifications ended, Herne said he was happy to be back in the Indianapolis 500.
"I was not happy watching [the race] on TV last year," Hearn said. "I remember where I was, watching the TV in a bar, and I was not a happy guy to be with. The one thing about this place is it rewards experience. So I knew that if I could get here and there was an opportunity people would look at me because I've had some success here."
Giebler bounces back after wreck
Phil Giebler, 28, became the second rookie to qualify in the field of 33, recording an average speed of 219.637 mph. The other rookie to qualify is female driver Milka Duno, who recorded an average speed of 219.228 mph. and will start in the middle of Row 10.
Though he qualified with a better speed than Duno, Giebler will start in last position on the outside of Row 11 due to the Bump Day qualifying format. However, Giebler said his team had a busy night after he wrecked his No. 31 car on Turn Two of his final qualifying lap the day before. With the average speed in his first three qualifying laps exceeding 220 mph, Giebler would've made it into the starting field if his attempt had not ended with a wreck.
After enduring his adversity, Giebler said he was relieved to have the opportunity to make his first Indy 500 start.
"[The team] was working on the car until about 1 a.m.," Giebler said. "They basically had to take the whole car apart and check every bolt. The engine was broke, so we needed a new one. We basically had to tear apart the whole car and then rebuild it again."
Kite flies out of the field
The driver Giebler bumped out of the starting 33 was Jimmy Kite, 31, who has started five Indianapolis 500's in his career. Kite was in position to qualify his No. 18 car Saturday before being pushed out of the field Sunday.
Kite's team was working on the car for most of the week. However, the group could never get its car's speed above 215 mph. Kite's crew chief, Paul Diatlovich, said he was incredibly disappointed about not being able to get Kite to his sixth Indy start.
"[We put] one of the best drivers in our business through a very terrible time by putting him in a car that was not capable of making the right moves," Diatlovich said. "It falls squarely on my shoulders. Jimmy Kite is a great driver and to have him sitting next to me explaining why we missed the show ... if he never answers the phone from me again I'll understand why."
While Diatlovich was disappointed in himself, Kite said he was proud of the job his crew did in getting the car put back together after he wrecked in a Wednesday practice run.
"After the wreck we had to work our tails off to just get back out onto the track," Kite said. "Friday the car was handling well and we kept trimming it out [for more speed] and the speed we expected just wasn't there. Everybody was working hard, it was just one of those days where nothing went right."
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