Franchitti and Castroneves share a joke during practice in Indianapolis

Scotland's Dario Franchitti took third place in qualifying for the Indy 500, while Brazil's Helio Castroneves grabbed pole for the fourth time.

Franchitti averaged 226.990mph to finish narrowly behind Castroneves and second-placed Will Power.

England's Justin Wilson finds himself on the fourth row, while compatriot Dan Wheldon is two rows further back.

Danica Patrick was 23rd, behind the other two women drivers Ana Beatriz (21st) and Simona de Silvestro (22nd).

Franchitti is the reigning IndyCar champion, and won the 500 in 2007.

Castroneves was delighted with his fourth pole at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, tying AJ Foyt and Rex Mays for second on the all-time list. Rick Mears heads it with six.

"This place, you've got to expect the unexpected, my friend. That was a great result," he said.

"I was ready. I didn't want to keep waiting and see all the times, I wanted to go for it."

In Sunday's second day of qualifying, former IndyCar champion Tony Kanaan overcame his second crash of the weekend to make it onto the grid.

Saavedra was bumped from the grid but later found himself back on it

He posted a four-lap average of 224.072 mph with 30 minutes left in qualifying which was good enough to bump newcomer Sebastian Saavedra out of the 33-car starting field.

Colombian Saavedra unable to return to the circuit after a crash resulted in him being taken to hospital for X-rays on his back.

But in a late twist, Paul Tracy, who lost the Indy 500 title in the disputed finish of 2002, withdrew his speed but failed to requalify, as did Jay Howard.

That put Saavedra back in the starting line-up.

Brazil's Bruno Junqueira, the 2002 Indy pole winner, was the fastest qualifier of the day at 225.662.

Sarah Fisher's four-lap average of 224.434 gave the field a record fourth woman, and she was the fastest of the four.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version