INDIANAPOLIS, May 15 (UPI) -- Buddy Rice went Saturday from a "fill-in" driver to the Indianapolis 500 pole winner.
Rice was hired to keep the seat warm while Kenny Brack recovered from serious leg injuries.
With less than two hours left in Saturday's rain-delayed time trials, Rice drove a Honda-powered G Force to a four-lap average of 222.024 miles per hour around the 2 1/2-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
It is the first Indy 500 pole for co-owners Bobby Rahal and television talk show host David Letterman.
Alongside Rice in the May 30 race will be second-year driver Dan Wheldon of England, who qualified a Dallara/Honda at 221.524 mph. Dario Franchitti, Wheldon's Andretti/Green Racing teammate, starts on the outside of the front row after clocking 221.471 mph in another Dallara/Honda.
The top seven cars of the 22 posting times on the first day of qualifications were Honda-powered.
