Brazil's Kanaan seizes berth at Indy 500 despite crash

Brazilian Tony Kanaan shrugged off a second crash to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday and said his unlikely last-row spot was as satisfying as pole position.

"I remember being here on the pole in 2005 - I think I'm more excited today that I'm starting 32nd," Kanaan said after a Bump Day he called "a nightmare".

Kanaan, a former IndyCar Series champion, squeezed onto the last row of the grid with a four-lap qualifying run at an average speed of 224.072mph.

He made it with half an hour left in qualifying, bumping Colombian rookie Sebastian Saavedra out of the 33-car field.

But in a dramatic turn of events, Canadian Paul Tracy withdrew his speed to try to improve it, but failed to re-qualify.

Jay Howard also withdrew his qualifying speed and failed to qualify, allowing Saavedra, who crashed late in the session and was sent to hospital for X-rays on his back - to claim the final qualifying spot.

For Kanaan, the last row of the grid at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway is unfamiliar, but welcome, territory. The May 30 race will mark the first time the Brazilian will start outside the first two rows in eight Indy starts.

But it was far better than it might have been after Kanaan hit the wall in turn one for the second time in less than 24 hours in practice on Saturday.

His Andretti AutoSport team crew pieced together parts from both of Kanaan's wrecked cars, along with parts from the cars of team-mates Marco Andretti, Danica Patrick and Ryan Hunter-Reay, to put him back on the track.

Brazilian Bruno Junqueira, the 2002 Indy pole winner, had Sunday's fastest time of 225.662mph.

It gave him 25th place on the grid, on the inside of the ninth row, as only places on the last three rows were on offer on the second and final day of qualifying.

Sarah Fisher qualified with a four-lap average of 224.434mph to put a record fourth woman in the field.