Rain returned to Indianapolis on Wednesday, leaving a host of Indianapolis 500 hopefuls scrambling to prepare for next weekend's qualifying sessions.

Last Sunday's second day of qualifying was washed out, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was closed on Monday and Tuesday as scheduled.

Ironically, the fabled circuit basked in warm, sunny weather on those days, while cold, wet weather greeted the reopening on Wednesday.

Officials didn't open the track until 5pm, paving the way for a frantic round of practice that featured little more than half an hour of green-flag running for 29 cars.

Scott Dixon of New Zealand, who won the pole for the 92nd Indianapolis 500 during last Saturday's Pole Day, was able to run 17 laps with a best lap at 222.834 miles per hour in his race setup.

Target/Chip Ganassi Racing team-mate Dan Wheldon of England was second with a speed of 222.810 mph as the fastest of his 22 total laps.

The top five drivers in Wednesday's practice session had all safely qualified, including third-fastest Marco Andretti, Japan's Hideki Mutoh and Danica Patrick.

Only 11 cars were qualified into the race after last Saturday's Pole Day. When the second round of qualifications were rained out, it created a difficult situation for many of the teams that have to use this week of practice to prepare for both race setups and for a qualifying run.

The forecast for Thursday called for even more rain, leading to uncertainty for the drivers who have yet to make the 33-car field for the Indy 500 on 25 May.

AFP