INDIANAPOLIS – The battle for the final starting position for the 92nd Indianapolis 500 proved brief but intense.

Four drivers tried a combined seven times in the final half-hour Sunday afternoon, with Roger Yasukawa, 1996 winner Buddy Lazier and Mario Dominguez all trading positions.

None of the scramble ultimately changed the field as it was set just a few minutes into the session, when A.J. Foyt IV made it in.

Dominguez eliminated Yasukawa, and Lazier knocked out Dominguez to become the final qualifier on a sunny afternoon with a wicked, 25-mph wind that wreaked havoc with traction for the aero-sensitive cars.

Lazier was the second-slowest Saturday, and after Foyt bumped Marty Roth, Roth returned to beat Lazier. Then after one aborted attempt in the 217 mph range, Lazier put himself back in with a 219.015 average.

“That’s pure engineering,” Lazier said. “I would love to say that I could dig deep and find 31/2 mph at Indy. I can maybe find a half or so.”

Yasukawa couldn’t find enough speed to get his spot back, and Max Papis’ car suffered a clutch failure that left him stranded on pit road. Dominguez crashed to end the day as he tried desperately to bump his way back into the field.

Scott Dixon won the pole May 10 with a speed of 226.366 during the first round of qualifying for the race Sunday.

No fault of his: Foyt suffered minor burns on his neck in one of the stranger crashes in recent memory. The fuel cover flew off his car at he left the warm-up lane during a mid-afternoon practice run, ethanol sprayed out, igniting flames at the back of his car as he hit Turn 3, and Foyt spun backward into the wall.

“The guy forgot to put it on,” Foyt said. “He doesn’t work for us no more.”

Injury update: After a night at Methodist Hospital, Phil Giebler was released but not cleared to drive.

He suffered a sprain in his neck.

Long time coming: Honda suffered its first engine failure at Indy since 2006. Davey Hamilton lost his during practice, but the problem happened on a straightaway, so he did not crash.