Al Unser, Jr. can relate to what James Hinchcliffe is going through.

Both are big-name stars that endured the pain and misery of “Bump Day” and missed the Indianapolis 500.

Hinchcliffe picked a bad day to have a bad day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during last Saturday’s Bump Day.

The popular driver from Canada never got a chance to make one more attempt at racing into the field when he was caught in the qualifying line when Pippa Mann was still on track for one of her failed qualification attempts. When the gun was fired to end qualifications at 5:50 p.m., Hinchcliffe was out of the race.

As of Wednesday, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (SPM) has been unable to find a ride from another qualified driver in Sunday’s 102nd Indianapolis 500. It appears those efforts will not result in Hinchcliffe getting into the race.

Hinchcliffe won the pole for the 100th Indianapolis 500 just one year after he was nearly killed in a crash during practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 18, 2015.

Two years later, his team was caught in the qualifying line in what was the first true Bump Day since 2011.

Unser was a two-time Indy 500 winning driver and the defending winner of the race when he arrived at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1995. By the end of Bump Day, both Unser and his Team Penske teammate, two-time Indy 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi, were too slow to make the show, even after acquiring cars from fellow owner Bobby Rahal in a last-chance effort.

Unser is part of Harding Racing and driver Gabby Chaves’ effort at the Indy 500 and saw some drama restored to the Indy 500 last Saturday.

“It was a great Bump Day,” Unser told Autoweek. “There was a lot of drama to it and we knew there was going to be a lot of drama to it.

“I can tell you at Harding Racing, we were stressed about it because we only have one car. We are not a big team and had to do everything right to make the show. That was most important. Believe me, we were stressed about doing it because the field is so tight and for good measure.

“Look who got bumped. That’s a top team. That’s a top driver. That’s a serious dude that got caught out.

“When we made the show, we breathed way easier.”

Hinchcliffe has risen in popularity because of the classy and dignified manner than he has accepted the disappointment. He has said ever since that he does not want to take away a ride from another driver that fought their way into the field but would do whatever the team decided.

Unser likes the fact that beginning in 2014, Bump Day is on Saturday and Pole Day is on Sunday so that the fastest drivers in the race are on full display on the final day of qualifications. With the exception of 34 cars in 2015, the 2014, 2016 and 2017 races had just enough entries to fill the 33-car starting lineup.

With 35 entries for the 33-car field in 2018, it meant there was a real possibility a star driver could have a problem and not make the race.

That star was Hinchcliffe.

“I think the whole thing is good,” Unser said. “Bump Day being on Saturday and doing the ‘one-and-dones’ for Sunday, it goes good. There are two bumps happening on Saturday. There is the bump for the ninth to get into the Fast Nine and the bump for 33rd. Some of these guys are fighting for ninth and others are fighting for 33rd. The drama is high, and it keeps the cars running all the time.

“With the two different lanes, it’s genus – pure genius.”

“You’ve got top teams trying to get in to have a shot at the pole the next day and you have other teams just trying to get into the race. The whole through process is genius and it’s great. You have the haves and the have-nots vying for track time on the track.

“I think it’s great.”

Ironically, for seven years Indy 500 fans and others involved in the sport have been crowing about bringing back Bump Day. Now that Bump Day played itself out, some are squawking they should start everybody.

IndyCar CEO Mark Miles told Autoweek Sunday morning that isn’t happening.

“We started more than 33 in the past, but it was under very unique circumstances in 1979 and in 1997,” Unser said. “It’s 33. Even when 50 cars showed up here, it’s 33 of the best and that is the way it is.

“They picked the number a long time ago and that’s the number.”

Unser admitted when he was bumped out of the race in 1995, it was a pain that lasted a very long time.

“I can absolutely relate,” Unser said. “When he missed the show out on Pit Lane and he was hugging his guys, I could totally relate to that. The first hour when you don’t get in, I could totally relate to that.

“Today, the world of racing is a different place than it was then. There were beaucoup sponsors and it was at the peak of our popularity then and there were a number of different teams in 1995 vying for the show. My whole team missed the show.

“With Hinch and the way we are now, sponsors are hard to come by and they are partners in our industry. Partners have a say. We want the partnerships in IndyCar that are so important to our industry. It’s a way different picture than it was for me in 1995.

“I was here on race day in 1995 and talked to ABC-TV before the race. It was tough. It was horrible.”

Unser said the pain of missing the 1995 Indy 500 didn’t go away until he qualified for the 2000 Indianapolis 500 for team owner Rick Galles in Unser’s first year in the Indy Racing League.

“I remember going down the backstretch and said to myself, ‘See, I can make this show.’”

Unser believes it’s an honor to be in the Indy 500 field.

“To be starting the Indianapolis 500 as a driver is the biggest gift God can give you as a race driver,” Unser said. “The way the world was back then, we didn’t buy our way back into the Indy 500. It’s the same with Harding Racing. It doesn’t matter how much money somebody has, we are racing in the Indy 500 and not selling our ride.

“We are racing in the Indianapolis 500 and that is more important than the money.”

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