SCOTT SHARP and Rahal Letterman Racing team-mate JEFF SIMMONS are still first and second for Sunday's second day of qualifying for the 91st Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Bumping has begun and three drivers have been bumped - BUDDY LAZIER, JON HERB and MARTY ROTH. So far all cars on course have the Dallara chassis.

Of the 14 drivers who have set times so far Sunday, five would have knocked MICHAEL ANDRETTI off the bubble had they set those times Saturday on Pole Day.

The temperatures varied during the second two hours of qualifying, from 68-74 degrees F. The breeze continued while the haze somewhat cleared. The track temperature has heated up to 125 degrees F.

One of the teams entered for the Indy 500 is in stealth mode - Cabbie Motorsports. It has asked IRL for privacy until it is ready to make its announcement. IRL sources say the team has indicated it has some big names behind it and haven't yet finalised the driver line-up. The team doesn't yet have a deal for Honda engines or Firestone tyres.

I mis-spoke about the number of Firestone Firehawk tyres allotted to each teams. For those teams running the full month of May, the number is 35 sets. For the second week teams, the amount is pro-rated according to how many days the car is on track, and is based on Indy Racing League rules. The allotment is two sets of tyres per day and ten sets for the race. Most teams use up their allotments, including 10-12 sets for the race.

The tyres which aren't used at all could be used again for another race this year. The sidewall graphics would be overlaid with a new set of graphics befitting the new venue.

Superspeedway tyres are built to be more durable. The Firestone Firehawk tyre for this year's Indy 500 is a new tyre for the Speedway. The new compound was designed for more grip. It was used earlier in the year at Motegi, with positive feedback from the teams.

Firestone brought 5000 tyres, a sufficient number to cover all the teams entered, to the 91st Indianapolis 500. All the tyres are the same compound. The left and right front tyres are the same, but the left and right rears have a different stagger to accommodate driving in the turns. The left tyres have a smaller diameter stagger than do the right rears, which allows for more smoother driving.