Briscoe unhurt after qualifying shunt.

Target Chip Ganassi Racing's rookie driver Ryan Briscoe was the only Indy 500 contender to strike the wall during Sunday's rescheduled MBNA Pole Day qualifying session and will now have to wait until next weekend before assuring his place in the 33-car starting line-up.

The young Australian had just started his second flying lap in the #33 Panoz-Toyota when the rear end of the car stepped out on the exit of turn one, sending the Target sponsored machine into the outside wall where it momentarily became airborne.

"On our first attempt the car was on the limit and I could feel that the car was really loose," said Briscoe. "I worked with the bar to dial in some rear grip but got caught by a gust of wind coming out of turn one and lost the rear on the exit."

Briscoe was checked and released from the infield care centre and went straight back to his pit, where the team were attempting to prepare the back-up machine.

While the crew was able to get Briscoe back on track more than an hour before the conclusion of qualifying, he was too far back in the qualifying line at the very end of the day to make an official attempt.

"The Target crew did a fantastic job getting the back up car ready but we just ran out of time," added Briscoe, whose first qualifying lap on his original run would have put him on the fourth row of the grid, ahead of his Ganassi teammates Scott Dixon and Darren Manning.

"We were confident we had a car to qualify 10th or 11th but we just ran out of time. It's unfortunate but we'll be back next weekend. It's a 500 mile race so anything can happen and we'll work on making it happen for us."