INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — IndyCar driver Charlie Kimball was sick Saturday and missed the public driver meeting for the Indianapolis 500. A team spokesman for Chip Ganassi Racing said medical personnel gave Kimball fluids as treatment and the illness was unrelated to his diabetes. Kimball is expected to race on Sunday. He'll start 19th and is one of 11 American drivers in the field.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — They raced 1-2-3 in line, trading the lead a whopping 15 times over the final, frantic 75 laps. The bar was certainly raised at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last year with 34 lead changes, passing throughout the field, Franchitti rallying from the back to win and three close friends of the late Dan Wheldon sweeping the podium. The series is off to a terrific start this year with three winners in the first four races, and for the first time since 1991 none of the winners drive for the mighty Penske Racing or Chip Ganassi Racing teams. Franchitti and Helio Castroneves are each vying to join Foyt, Al Unser Sr. and Rick Mears as the only four-time winners of the Indy 500, a feat that's not been done since Mears' 1991 victory. "What an incredible opportunity for the fans to have not only one, but two guys trying to make history," Castroneves said. Carlos Munoz, a 21-year-old Colombian making his IndyCar debut, will start second alongside Marco Andretti, who is once again considered a favorite but must overcome a curse that has limited his famous family to one win — Mario Andretti in 1969 — in 80 starts. [...] Rahal thinks everybody is overlooking AJ Allmendinger, who will make his Indianapolis 500 debut seven years after he left open-wheel racing for NASCAR. A failed drug test cost him his NASCAR ride last summer with Roger Penske, but the team owner has given him a second chance with this IndyCar opportunity. Carpenter, the stepson of IndyCar Series founder Tony George, is a graduate of Butler and a die-hard Indiana Pacers fan and the surprise pole-winner for the Indy 500. Carpenter is powered by Chevrolet, which for the second year in a row dominated all the preparations for the Indy 500 and swept the first 10 spots in qualifying. If that sounds familiar, it should — last year, Chevrolet dominated leading into the Indy 500 but Franchitti won in a Honda.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Carlos Munoz remembers spilling into the streets of his native Bogota the minute that Juan Pablo Montoya crossed the finish line to win the Indianapolis 500. The 21-year-old sensation will start in the middle of the front row on Sunday, just as Montoya did as a rookie more than a decade ago. Montoya may have been an Indy rookie in 2000, but he was also the defending champion in CART, back when that series rivaled the Indy Racing League. [...] he had plenty of experience running against elite open-wheel competition, including on high-speed ovals such as Michigan. Munoz, the Indy Lights point leader, will be in uncharted territory. Former Indy 500 winner Eddie Cheever has seen Munoz make a couple of those moves. If I'm sitting in the manager's chair, I'm thinking, 'How am I going to manage so much talent and so much speed for a 500-mile race?' [...] while he's often overshadowed by defending series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay, popular teammate Marco Andretti, and even E.J. Viso and James Hinchcliffe, Munoz proved with his four-lap average of 228.342 mph during qualifying last weekend that he has one of the cars to beat. Pole sitter Ed Carpenter, who will start next to Munoz on the grid, said there's no way to truly prepare for taking the green flag for the first time. [...] it's not the fact that he's a rookie that makes me nervous, or anything that he's done this month. At least, until he makes the walk from Gasoline Alley to the track.

The Brazilian was unable to start qualifying after a heavy crash in the morning's third and final practice session, in which he was unharmed.

MONACO (AP) — Sebastian Vettel needs to rediscover his speed in qualifying if he is to protect his overall Formula One lead at the Monaco Grand Prix. Monaco is the hardest track to overtake on in F1, with only two drivers winning from outside of pole position in the last 10 years, so starting from the front is crucial. [...] Vettel's Red Bull has not been as dominant in qualifying over the last three races, and the German's lead over Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen is just four points going into Sunday's showcase race. Tire management has been a crucial factor, with the Pirelli tires shredding too easily in all five races so far. The Italian manufacturer was heavily criticized in Barcelona, where there were nearly 80 pit stops and most drivers had to shelve plans for a three-stop strategy, taking four instead. Vettel is a big fan of Monaco, which blends danger with a picturesque setting featuring the glittering harbor, the resplendent casino and Prince Albert's palatial residence looming imperiously over the track.