By: Tristan Schilling

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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The Indianapolis 500 is coming up this Sunday and there isn’t much time left for teams to tune up their cars.

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For some, it’s been a struggle to get ready for the race.       

 

James Davison is happy to be racing, but not so excited about how he got here.  He’s replacing  Sebastien Bourdais who crashed his car on Saturday.

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“Yesterday I didn’t know what to think, you know it was just such a mixed emotion to be able to get the opportunity to drive in the race, but such unfortunate circumstances,” Davison said.

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Because of the crash, the Dale Coyne Racing team is now not only down a driver, but down a car.

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Not only will Davison start in the 33rd and final position on the track, but he’s also working with a road course car instead of a car built for an oval super speedway. "We're all aware of what our situation is here.  It's obviously very compromised," Davison said.  “We’ve just got to do the best we can with it and keep the car in one piece. There’s no excuses for doing anything negligent.”

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Davison isn’t the only one with some more work ahead.

 

Simon Pagenaud said he wasn’t happy with his qualifying speed.   

Pagenaud said they made a lot of changes last night to the car including body work and a new engine. “It's a weapon, that engine.” Pagenaud said.

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For driver Max Chilton it may not be the car, but the driver that needs some work.

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With just one season of racing on ovals, Chilton, an ex-Formula One driver said he still finds ovals challenging.   

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“It’s difficult. I still feel like I’m a rookie. I’m still learning a lot,” said Chilton.

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Time is running out on these drivers who are ready to find out if their hard work will pay off this Sunday.