Danica Patrick put her entry in the No. 8 qualifying spot the day before with a lap of 224.076 mph and Sarah Fisher insured that at least two women will start this year's Indy run when she qualified her No. 5 entry 21st for this year's event.
"This qualifying setup is almost turning into a practice session, like a gambling practice session. We saw a lot of action,'' said Patrick. "It's not a straightforward qualifying day, but there isn't a lot that is straightforward about Indianapolis. It is unique in the same way.
Patrick got the day off Sunday, while Fisher - with her former go-kart driving mom, Reba, in attendance on Mother's Day - turned a lap of 221.960 mph to lock down another start in one of racing's most-storied events.
Rookie newcomer Milka Duno hopes to become the third female to make the 33-car starting lineup, but won't get that opportunity until later in the week.
She did not make a qualifying attempt after an accident in her No. 23 CITGO Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone on Fast Friday.
"The plan is that I will be in the car on Wednesday. The guys are working very hard. We hope to have the car ready for Wednesday," said Duno. "It's something that can happen here. Everyone says, 'Welcome to Indianapolis.'"
A total of 14 cars made qualifying attempts, including five that were unsuccessful in securing a spot on Pole Day. Five were quicker than Michael Andretti's four-lap qualifying average (222.789 mph) that held 11th on the first day.
Wheeling the No. 8 Patron Sharp Rahal Letterman Racing entry, Scott Sharp was atop the charts on the second day with a lap of 223.875 mph, which will put him on Row 4 with Andretti and Vision Racing's Tomas Scheckter.
The No. 17 Team Ethanol entry of Jeff Simmons (223.693), Ed Carpenter (223.495) in the No. 20 Vision Racing car and the No. 14 ABC Supply Co. of Darren Manning (223.471) will share Row 5.
Former Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Rice (222.826), Kosuke Matsuura (222.595) in the No. 55 Panasonic car and A.J. Foyt IV (222.413) will be on Row 6 while Vitor Meira (222.333), Davey Hamilton and Fisher will be on Row 7.
Buddy Lazier, the 1996 race winner, bumped Jon Herb from the final available spot on the day with a second attempt of 221.380 mph."A lot of thought went into the process to develop the new (qualifying) format and there's so many years of history and tradition here, but realistically, coming out of the first weekend, you usually came out with 20 to 25 cars qualified, and that's what we've got," said Brian Barnhart, President, Competition and Operations for the IRL. "We've got 22 cars qualified, we just got there a little different way that I think was way more entertaining for the fans.''
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