INDIANAPOLIS — Danica Patrick put her No. 13 car safely in the Indianapolis 500 field after waiting through a rain delay of 2 hours, 20 minutes.
The first woman to lead the race finished with a four-lap average of 227.610 mph, the fifth-fastest of the day and the second fastest after qualifying resumed. She was just behind teammate Spencer Pigot, who was fourth overall after 16 qualifying attempts. Ed Carpenter, who owns the team, was scheduled to qualify later.
« The thing about Indy, it’s very unpredictable, » she said. « You have to respect the process of Indy understand that it comes and it goes. »
Not everyone fared as well as Patrick after the track dried out.
James Hinchcliffe, the 2016 Indy pole winner, was the first driver out after the delay and put up the slowest average so far at 224.784 for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.
The top 33 drivers qualify for the starting grid Saturday, and the field will be set Sunday. The nine fastest drivers will compete for the pole Sunday.
Patrick is retiring after the May 27 race.
http://www.espn.com/racing/indycar/story/_/id/23547991/danica-patrick-qualifies-final-indy-500-driving-ed-carpenter-racing-indianapolis-motor-speedway
