Tony Kanaan Qualifies For the Indy 500 After Two Crashes

What went from trying to get into the Top Nine on Saturday, Tony Kanaan and the 7-Eleven team was just trying to get into the Indy 500 yesterday. Kanaan, who is one of the sport's most popular drivers in the IZOD Indy Series, was struggling to make the cut.

On Saturday, Kanaan wrecked during his qualifying run and wasn't able to attempt another run that day. Yesterday, Kanaan again wrecked early in the morning in his backup car. Kanaan was then on the brink of not qualifying for the Indy 500 for the first time.

The Andretti Autosport team rebuilt Kanaan's car using parts from other team cars like Marco Andretti and Ryan Hunter Reay. The gearbox Kanaan used to get in the race was actually Reay's gearbox from the day before.

When asked about the situation, Reay responded by saying that the team has done so much for him that it was the least he could do to help Kanaan get in the race.

After the car was put together and went through tech, Kanaan went out and practiced. After a few practice runs, Kanaan felt that it was ready to go for a qualifying run.

With 30 minutes left of Bump Day qualifying, Kanaan went out for his run. After two warmup laps, Kanaan got the green flag and for four laps Kanaan was racing to get in. On his final lap he got the checkered flag, and ran a time of 224.072 mph. That time was good enough for 30th place.

Kanaan then had to sit and wait as others tried to bump their way in. However when the 6:00 gun was fired, Kanaan was 32nd fastest and was in the race. It wasn't the pole that was the goal for the 7-Eleven team, but after two crashes in less than 24 hours it felt like it.

"Obviously, it was a very emotional day for me," Kanaan said. "I'm not the type of guy—I don't cry very easily—the other Brazilian does all the time. But it was a tough day for me. Every time I came out it was very emotional." (The "other Brazilian" being Helio Castroneves.)

Tony Kanaan will be in the Indy 500 next Sunday, I think its safe to say that Kanaan won't be in 32nd place for long once the green flag drops.