INDIANAPOLIS — Former Indy 500 winner Kenny Brack got his comeback off the ground in a big way Saturday, qualifying for the May 29 race with a faster speed than pole sitter Tony Kanaan.
When the 39-year-old Swede stepped out of his car following a four-lap, 10-mile qualifying effort of 227.598 mph, defending 500 winner Buddy Rice — the man he replaced in the cockpit of the No. 15 Rahal Letterman Racing entry — was waiting there to give Brack a big hug.
But Brack, coming back from serious injuries in a crash at Texas Motor Speedway in October 2003, will have to settle for starting 23rd in the 33-car field for the Memorial Day weekend race after missing the opening day of qualifications last week.
"I don't think the starting position will make a difference," Brack said. "I think having a good race car is what matters."
It will be his first Indy Racing League start since the devastating crash in which he broke both ankles, a thigh, his back and ribs. One of the ankles was crushed, and Brack spent three months in hospitals recovering and rehabilitating.
His performance Saturday was the culmination of all the physical therapy and training he has put in over the past 18 months.
About his qualifying effort, which included the fastest lap of the month at 227.940, he said: "It wasn't perfect, but it was plenty good enough."
Kanaan led 22 qualifiers last Sunday with a speed of 227.566, locking up the top starting spot for the 500-mile race. Brack didn't even arrive at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway until Tuesday, called by team co-owner Bobby Rahal to replace the injured Rice — ironically, the driver who replaced him last year.
Rice, who started from the pole last year, was expected to be a contender for both the pole and the race win again this year before he crashed in practice on May 10.
Despite spending one night in the hospital with a concussion and a back injury, Rice was expected to be back this week, ready to join teammates Danica Patrick and Vitor Meira in the race.
Instead, doctors discovered a partially torn spinal ligament in his neck, forcing Rahal Letterman to find a replacement.
Brack got the call.