INDIANAPOLIS — With so many veteran drivers trying to make it into the Indianapolis 500 on the second day of qualifying, it seemed unlikely the spotlight would fall on rookie Raphael Matos.
But Matos, 28, led the way Sunday, posting a four-lap average of 223.429 mph to top the second group of 11 drivers to make it into the 33-car field for the May 24 race.
Even Matos was impressed by how fast he ran.
“Yeah, I was a little bit surprised,” he said. “But we did a qualifying simulation during the five minutes before qualifying started, and we made a few adjustments in the car for the qualifying run and found almost half a mile an hour.”
Sunday’s seven fastest drivers posted speeds quicker than the 222.622 by Alex Lloyd, the slowest of the 11 drivers who earned spots in the lineup Saturday.
But nobody was able to come anywhere near the pole-winning 224.864 by Helio Castroneves.
Rookie Logano impresses
DARLINGTON, S.C. — Mark Martin won the Southern 500 late Saturday, but it was rookie Joey Logano who was the talk of the track, earning praise from Tony Stewart.
“When he was leading the race, I was smiling because I knew those guys have been waiting for this for a couple of weeks now,” said Stewart, who finished third behind Martin and Jimmie Johnson. “It’s just a matter of time before Joey got going.”
Logano, who turns 19 on May 24, led 19 laps and was out front with fewer than 100 miles left. He finished ninth.
Footnotes.
Jenson Button won his fourth Formula One race of the season by taking the Spanish Grand Prix ahead of Brawn GP teammate Rubens Barrichello in Barcelona. . . . Toyota is threatening to pull out of Formula One in 2010 because of a dispute over a proposed budget cap.
The Associated Press
