I'm proud of how we bounced back - Hunter-Reay

Ryan Hunter-Reay is going to start 10th in the 101st Indianapolis 500, but don't let that stat fool you because he's as pretty quick. Check that: He's faster than everybody but the front row.

The 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner bounced back from a disappointing Saturday to post the best average of the drivers not competing in the Fast Nine; his four-lap average of 231.442mph turned out to be the fourth-fastest overall.

"I didn't expect to go that fast but that run was on the edge, I mean on the EDGE," said Hunter-Reay, who lines up on the inside of Row 4 for his 10th 500 start. "It was a thrill show all the way around except Turn 3, that was the only place to catch my breath.

"You got blown off Turn 2 but I have no idea why Turn 4 was so hard. It's always the most stressful four laps of the year but it was really stressful today."

A pole favorite going in with his Andretti Autosport DHL Honda, Hunter-Reay could only muster the 13th-best run on Saturday when the pre-grid was set and he was pretty depressed since four of his six Andretti teammates made the Fast Nine.

"I was sooo loose and all I could do was hang on, and it was really disappointing considering the speed we'd shown all week," said the 36-year-old native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. "So we changed everything overnight and big props to our engineering department.

"This place is always surprising, especially on the first lap of qualifying. But no two days are ever the same here and no two laps are ever the same, and I was proud of how we bounced back."

Hunter-Reay might not have had anything for pole-sitter Scott Dixon, but considering the track got quicker as the afternoon got longer, it was easy to see him sitting on the front row instead of the pole of Row 4.

"I started 19th and won, so this is way better," he said. "And I think we've got a good shot."