Vasser fastest as practice resumes

Vasser's practice laps - and the withdrawal of Arie Luyendyk - reiterated the possibility that this Indianapolis 500 might come up short of the traditional 33-car starting field. Not just come up short, but come up very short.

Twenty-four cars are in the field for the Indy 500 on May 25. With just one qualifying session remaining on Sunday, it's more than likely - barring last-minute car and driver dealings - that this race will fall short of 33 cars. In spite of the negative publicity for the race and the current state of disarray in open-wheel racing in the US, Vasser said the field for this Indy 500 is as strong as it has been since the split began in 1996.

"You can write either side of the story," Vasser said. "You can write the positive or the negative, but the truth is it's highly competitive."

To reach 33, the Indy Racing League would need almost every remaining car on the entry list to try to qualify Sunday. That includes at least three cars that have yet to be seen on the track this month, and several others that don't appear likely to make last-minute efforts.

"Maybe there won't be the bump-day drama," Vasser said. "Maybe there won't be the drama of somebody just throwing together something at the last minute that wouldn't have a chance to win the race anyway. The quality of this field is as high as it's ever been since I've been here."

Vasser's lap of 225.956mph in the Team Rahal Dallara-Honda was 11th fastest overall during Wednesday's practice session. Tora Takagi had the fastest lap of the day, 229.704mph, in his Mo Nunn Racing Panoz G Force-Toyota.

Takagi's team-mate, Arie Luyendyk, announced that he wouldn't compete in the race while recovering from injuries sustained in a crash last week. That ride is expected to be filled, but - unless car owners Roger Penske, Chip Ganassi, John Menard or Eddie Cheever Jr come through with little-seen entries - the 500 could have as few as 29 or 30 cars.

Meanwhile, rumours swirled around the speedway that Alex Zanardi had contacted Mo Nunn about Luyendyk's vacated seat.

"Seeing what he did last weekend in Germany and what he's capable of, I wouldn't be surprised that he called," Vasser said. "I would imagine it's a little tongue-in-cheek, but he still has it. His recovery has been one of the coolest things I've seen in my lifetime."