Ryan Briscoe is confident he can still be a contender for victory in the Indianapolis 500 even though he will start only 27th and in his back-up car following a practice crash.
The Penske driver had a heavy accident during the morning practice session prior to Pole Day qualifying on Saturday. He was unhurt and soon cleared to drive again, but could not get the same speed out of his spare car and only made the field on Bump Day. Still, Briscoe is confident that he will be in better shape for the race.
"I have a great car. I have a great setup," he said. "For some reason this T-car hasn't been pulling the speeds we've been expecting with what we were seeing with the primary car. Unfortunately, with my crash, we can't get that back together. We're racing with the T-car. We ran it on opening day, and it felt great. So I'm just looking forward to the race. We're going to have a great racecar."
Briscoe does not believe he will have any trouble getting through the field in next Sunday's race.
"I'm starting in the back, but we'll be able to get to the front," he said. "I've got Roger Penske calling my race [strategy], and we want to bring one home for [sponsor] IZOD."
The other two Penske drivers Will Power and Helio Castroneves will start fifth and 16th, respectively.