Marco Andretti makes Indy 500 Field in the last chance. Rinus Veekay survives over Jacob Abel

Indianapolis (AP) -Marco Andretti made the field for the Indianapolis 500 in the last chance on Sunday, while Rinus Veekay sweated by Dale Coyne Racing teammate Jacob Abel for one last moment to earn the final place on the 33 car start. Marcus Armstrong, who destroyed a day earlier during the exercise, also made the May 25 race after Meyer Shank Racing quickly built a replacement car on Saturday. He starts between Andretti and Veekay in the middle of the last row. “I feel relief, but not real happiness,” says Veekay, who has never started worse than seventh in five previous Indy 500s. “We were just very slow, both Jacob and I, and unfortunately it was one of the two who went out.” Andretti scored an average of four round of 229.741 km / h, and Armstrong was not far during his qualifying run. But Abel and Veekay were much off the pace, and it quickly became clear that the teammates would fight it for the final place. Coyne said he would make his two teams work independently as they tried to make the field. Veekay’s first attempt at four round yielded an average of 227,740 mph, far ahead of Abel’s track. But with his teammate preparing to go again, Veekay made his first attempt and went to the track with about 8 minutes left in the hour -long window. It seems to be a bad idea. Veekay got even slower – just 226.913 km / h – and was left to look nervously from Pit Lane, while Abel went out in the final minutes of the session with the chance to bump him off the field. “I was really scared,” Veekay said. “I thought it could be.” But with a car still hot from his previous run, Abel also went slower. His velocity of 226,394 MPH made him the only driver to spend the past two weeks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that could not make the starting grid. “Jacob is not just my teammate. He is a very good friend,” Veekay said. “I feel bad for him. It would be his first; That’s my sixth. Of course, it feels good to make the field, but it is the definition of bitter. ‘ Abel had a loss to declare his lack of pace. His car was good in practice, but simply did not show up during the qualification. “Super strange situation,” he said. “We were quickly in the no-taking. We were very, very conservative. It seemed like something happened overnight Friday to Saturday and we lost faster, and it got slower and slower. ‘ Meanwhile, Andretti was safe in his 20th consecutive Indy 500. The son of Michael Andretti and grandson of the winner of 1969, Mario Andretti, began in 2020, but will now begin the deepest thing he has ever been in the field. “Never did I think I would be happy with the 31st, but today I am,” Andretti, who finished second in 2006 and finished three third place, said on social media. “Proud of the 98 group! Now we’re trying to win the Indy 500!” ___