Sharp fastest in Sunday qualifying

Scott Sharp led the day by landing the 12th spot on the grid with a four-lap average of 223.875 in his No. 8 RLR Honda/Dallara. Teammate Jeff Simmons followed at 223.693 mph in the No. 17 RLR Honda/Dallara to secure the inside fifth-row starting position.

Both drivers played down their starting positions.

"I've told the guys that I've started on the pole, front row, second row and third row. That doesn't matter," Sharp said.

"It's how good your car is in race trim. We're going to work hard next week, continue what we've learned, and I think we'll be in good shape."

Most of the other teams that hovered around the bubble during Saturday's first round also made it into the field Sunday, including Vision Racing's Ed Carpenter, A.J. Foyt Enterprises' Darren Manning, and Dreyer & Reinbold's Buddy Rice.

"We wanted to qualify on Saturday, but realistic there was only one spot open after the three big teams, and Tomas (Scheckter) and the Vision team did a good job to get that position," Rice said.

"We didn't run Saturday afternoon due to some mechanical issues, so we did have a chance to go back out after the first qualifying run. The issue might have been why we didn't run as fast as we thought on Saturday."

Sunday's round filled positions 12 through 22 on the 33-car gird; the remaining 11 positions for the May 27 race will be determined by qualifying next weekend.

Sharp recorded the best average of the day, putting him in the Indy 500 field for the 13th time.

"Like I've said all along coming here, we probably wouldn't win the qualifying battle, but we might have a really good chance to win the main battle; the 500 miles," Sharp said. "We continue to get the car better and better every day, and that's what you've got to do."

Simmons followed with his effort, which, like Sharp's, was better than he'd run Saturday.

"Today the car was much more consistent all the way around," Simmons said. "We could just go out there and pick the right line."

Hamilton was the sentimental favorite of the day, qualifying for the Indy 500 for the first time since 2001. He was severely injured in a crash at Texas Motor Speedway shortly after the 500 that year, and spent years recovering from injuries to his feet and ankles.

After his qualifying attempt, other drivers and crew members from rival teams congratulated Hamilton, who has worked as a radio commentator, spotter and driver of the promotional two-seat car while recovering from the injuries.

"I honestly didn't really think I had the opportunity to come back and do this," Hamilton said. "I was a bit nervous; it's been six years since I'd been in that line.

"We had a great race car, but you never know until you get out there. Vision Racing has done such a great job giving me a good car all week. I think every time I've been out there I've been flat out, so the car has been great."

Buddy Lazier bumped Jon Herb out of the top 22 with a late run of 221.380 mph

to cinch the 22nd position. Jaques Lazier then went out as the gun sounded to end the session, but waved off when it became apparent that he didn't have enough speed to bump his brother.

Following Sharp, Simmons, Carpenter, Manning and Rice on the grid are Kosuke Matssura, A.J. Foyt IV, Vitor Meira, Davey Hamilton, Sarah Fisher and Buddy Lazier.

Among the drivers who practiced last week but aren't yet in the field include Herb, Jaques Lazier, Al Unser Jr, Marty Roth, Stephan Gregoire and Milka Duno.

Helio Castroneves won the pole position Saturday in dramatic fashion Saturday, as Tony Kanaan missed his four-lap average by just 0.420 seconds. Only two of Saturday's qualifiers -- Dario Franchitti and Ryan Briscoe in a backup car -- practiced during Sunday's six-hour session.

Action resumes Wednesday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the seventh practice session of the month. More qualifying is set for Saturday and Sunday.

Pos  Driver                 Speed
 1.  Helio Castroneves      225.817
 2.  Tony Kanaan            225.757
 3.  Dario Franchitti       225.191
 4.  Scott Dixon            225.122
 5.  Sam Hornish Jr         225.109
 6.  Dan Wheldon            224.641
 7.  Ryan Briscoe           224.410
 8.  Danica Patrick         224.076
 9.  Marco Andretti         223.299
10.  Tomas Scheckter        222.877
11.  Michael Andretti       222.789
12.  Scott Sharp            223.875
13.  Jeff Simmons           223.693
14.  Ed Carpenter           223.495
15.  Darren Manning         223.471
16.  Buddy Rice             222.826
17.  Kosuke Matsuura        222.595
18.  AJ Foyt IV             222.413
19.  Vitor Meira            222.333
20.  Davey Hamilton         222.327
21.  Sarah Fisher           221.960
22.  Buddy Lazier           221.380