In proclaiming it "Indianapolis 500 Day in New York City," New York City Sports Commission commissioner Ken Podziba said "it truly is an honor to welcome the great and heroic drivers who will compete in the 90th Indianapolis 500 to our city. It, like this ship, is truly an American classic." Indy Racing League founder and Indianapolis Motor Speedway CEO Tony George presented Podziba an IndyCar Series replica front wing/nose assembly signed by all the drivers.

"I don't know if I should show Mayor Bloomberg; he would want to hang it in his office," Podziba said. George also presented a signed wing/nose replica to Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum executive director Susan Marenoff."Since 1911, we have run the race on Memorial Day Weekend, and we always take time to honor and celebrate the men and women who serve our country," George said. "This ship is a place of honor for those who have served and are serving our country."

Earlier in the day, George rang the bell to open the New York Stock Exchange. Laura George, Michael and Marco Andretti and the front row for the 500-Mile Race of Sam Hornish Jr., Helio Castroneves and Dan Wheldon joined him on the platform. Drivers toured the trading floor, and posed for a formal photo outside the Wall Street institution with an Indianapolis 500 Pace Car and Marco Andretti's No. 26 NYSE Dallara/Honda/Firestone. Jerry Putnam, president of the NYSE Group, presented each driver and Tony and Laura George with a commemorative medallion. Tony George presented Putnam and Catherine Kinney, co-chief operating officer of the NYSE Group with a replica nose/wing assembly signed by all the drivers.

"I can't wait for the race," Putnam said. "I'll be there Friday ready to kick off the weekend in style." Race week already has begun that way.

Hornish's 10th career pole start will come in the largest one-day sporting event on the planet - a race he's dreamed about winning before he climbed into a go-kart two decades ago. It was the 13th Indianapolis 500 pole for team owner Roger Penske.

Thirty-two other competitors won't concede anything to the Ohio-bred driver on May 28, including teammate Helio Castroneves (228.008) and reigning Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Series champion Dan Wheldon (227.338). They'll share the front row with Hornish. Scott Dixon (226.921), Wheldon's Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, 2005 pole sitter Tony Kanaan (226.776) and Panther Racing's Vitor Meira (226.156) will be on Row 2.

Thirty-two cars qualified for the 33 spots, with six hours of qualifying remaining May 21 on Bump Day. Two cars that recorded practice laps this month did not make qualifying attempts.

Vision Racing's Townsend Bell was the only qualifier to utilize the three-attempt opportunity. The team withdrew the No. 90 Rock & Republic Dallara/Honda/Firestone, which was on the inside of Row 6 (223.659 mph), and Bell was back on the track with 25 minutes left in the session. He moved up one spot (15th; 224.374 mph).

Rahal, the 17-year-old son of former Atlantic standout and three-time Champ Car champion Bobby Rahal, led all 32 laps Sunday at the Tecate Grand Prix of Monterrey Presented by Roshfrans Atlantic race (tape-delayed on SPEED at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 28) to earn his first victory in the Yokohama Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda. Claiming a 3.571-second win on the fast and slippery Fundidora Park road circuit, Rahal became the youngest-ever winner in the 33-year history of the Atlantic Championship.

On Saturday, Rahal established a new course record while leading the final round of Atlantic qualifying to seize his first series pole position. With his legendary father working the pit board for the Mi-Jack Conquest Racing team, the younger Rahal took advantage of starting from the point in just his third series race. Fighting back challenges from the fast drivers surrounding him, Rahal enjoyed a strong start at the green flag and maintained his position through a tight first lap. After that, the native of New Albany, Ohio ran a strong race and never really left an opportunity for the rest of the 23 drivers in the Atlantic field to try and catch him.

Posting the fastest lap of the race at 1:23.206 (91.030 mph) – a new Atlantic record at Monterrey – just three laps from the finish, Rahal got stronger as the race wore on. Giving his dad a Father’s Day present just a few weeks early, Rahal took the checkered flag at the 12-turn, 2.104-mile course and celebrated with his team in Victory Circle.

Bourdais had his hands full with both Wilson and Allmendinger all the way to the first pit stop with Wilson staying within a second of the leader for most of the stint. The only caution flag of the day waved on Lap 24 for debris on the backstretch, sending nearly the entire field down Pit Lane for fuel and new Bridgestone Potenza tires. Wilson came out ahead of Bourdais upon completion of the stops as the Newman/Haas crew to a little longer to get more fuel in the car – a move that would pay off handsomely a little later in the day. Dan Clarke was the leader on the restart after being the only car not to pit, but was immediately shuffled back as the focus switched to Wilson.

Allmendinger again made a big move in Turn One and snaked past Bourdais for second on the restart as both RuSPORT drivers elected to come out on the alternate red-walled Bridgestone tires while Bourdais saved his final set for the last part of the event. The strategy worked in the short term as Wilson pulled away to a 2.3-second lead before the second round of stops began on Lap 48. It took until Lap 55 of 76 before Wilson pitted while Bourdais waited one lap longer. The longer fuel fill made on the second stint meant that Bourdais would spend less time to get the fuel he needed to make it to the end, and he ripped off of Pit Lane ahead of Wilson to take the lead. Wilson had a brief chance to run the leader down as Bourdais negotiated the first few turns on cold tires, but the two-time defending champ was equal to the task and held his lead.

He built a one-second advantage in the first two laps but nearly saw it erased on Lap 58 when navigating lapped traffic. Bourdais came up on the car of Katherine Legge who stepped out of the way to let the leaders pass. In doing so, Sebastien eased slightly, allowing Wilson to come to the leader’s rear wing, but Bourdais held off the charge and Wilson would never get that close again. Tracy ran a strong fourth for the majority of the day after dispatching Junqueira, dropping Junqueira deeper into the results when he was black flagged by Race Control for blocking. Junqueira had to serve a drive-through penalty for the violation, dropping him to 13th. He would battle back to score a top-10 finish, earning his second top-10 of the season.

Alex Tagliani came home fifth, marking the fifth consecutive season that Tagliani has earned a top-five finish in Monterrey. Mario Dominguez made up two spots to finish sixth, but it wasn’t without a fight as Andrew Ranger fought the local hero tooth-and-nail over the last five laps before settling for seventh. Will Power was the top-finishing rookie of the event, coming home in 11th and widening his lead in the Roshfrans Rookie-of-the-Year standings to nine points over Jan Heylen. Bourdais’ victory boosted his point total to 102 after three races, and gave him a 25-point lead over Wilson and 33 over Dominguez. The series will take a week off before heading to the Milwaukee Mile June 3-4 for the Time Warner Cable Road Runner 225 for the first oval-track event of the season.

Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Scott Dixon (227.322 mph) and Dan Wheldon (227.040 mph) posted the second- and third-fastest laps, respectively, with Helio Castroneves (226.654 mph) fourth. Defending pole winner Tony Kanaan (226.104 mph) was fifth-fastest. Drivers turned more than 2,300 laps on the 2.5-mile oval, including Roger Yasukawa, who stepped in for Jon Herb at Playa Del Racing. Rahal Letterman Racing's Jeff Simmons was uninjured in the day's only incident - a spin in Turn 1 late in the day.