INDIANAPOLIS _ The 33 drivers in the Indianapolis 500 are seeking racing immortality. One, J.R. Hildebrand, also wants vindication for being a mere mortal.
Six years ago the Californian was only one corner away from winning the iconic race as a rookie when he lost control of his car and crashed into the wall. That enabled Dan Wheldon to shoot past him for the victory.
It was a shocking mistake that might have sent another young driver into racing oblivion. But Hildebrand has used it as motivation to keep trying to win the Memorial Day weekend classic.
He's a strong contender again this year, having qualified sixth with an average speed of 230.889 mph, so he starts Sunday's 101st running of the race in the second row under the Indy 500's unique starting format of 11 rows of three cars each. It's Hildebrand's highest starting spot in his seven career Indy 500s.
"I'm really looking forward to the race," he said. "You always prefer to be in the top couple of rows."
Hildebrand was 25th fastest in Friday's final practice in a car prepared by the team of Ed Carpenter, the driver-owner who himself qualified second behind pole-sitter Scott Dixon.
Three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves turned the fastest lap of 227.377 mph Friday at the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway on "Carb Day," a throwback to the days when mechanics made final adjustments to the cars' carburetors.
Hildebrand also has bounced back from an injury early this season. He broke a bone in his left hand April 9 when his car collided with another during the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, the second race on the Verizon IndyCar Series calendar.
That forced Hildebrand, a 29-year-old native of Sausalito, Calif., to miss the next race at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama. He returned for the following race, in Phoenix, and finished third.
Hildebrand graduated from high school in Corte Madera, Calif., with a 4.12 grade-point average, was a National Merit Scholar and was accepted to Massachusetts Institute of Technology but chose a racing career instead.
