22-year-old Swiss with HVM Racing spoke to swissinfo.ch from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where she will be one of four women to race in the 100th anniversary of the world-class event.
The 500-mile-long contest – where 33 drivers compete at speeds close to 230mph (370 km/h) – is nothing new to de Silvestro, the most decorated female driver in the history of the Atlantic series of open-wheel racing. Last year the Swiss was named Rookie of the Year during her first Indy 500, in which she finished 14th. In 2009 she had no fewer than nine podium finishes.
But things quickly went wrong during this year’s Indy practice rounds. Coming into a corner on May 19, de Silvestro lost control after the rear suspension failed, sending her #78 Nuclear Clean Air Energy car airborne and into a catch fence before grinding to a fiery halt.
“It got pretty hot in there,” said de Silvestro, who was quickly freed from the wreckage, whisked to hospital and considers herself lucky to have walked away.
Despite second- and third-degree burns to her hands, two days later the Thun-born racer grabbed the wheel of “Pork Chop”, an older, heavier backup car, and clocked an average speed of 224.392 mph. It was enough to put her back in the race.
Not only did she make the grid in 24th spot for the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing", De Silvestro did it in her 2003 backup car 5km/h faster than in the HVM Racing No1 car.
And, to make things more difficult, she had to pilot the car at nearly 360km/h with second-degree burns on her hands.
De Silvestro told the Weekend Herald how she managed to get a gig in IndyCars.
"It's a dream come true for me to be racing in IndyCar.
"I worked really hard to be here and sacrificed a lot but it's really paying off now, and I want to be remembered as a really good IndyCar driver.
"I did my first test in 2009 and it went quite well and everyone liked how I worked and I was pretty quick. I supposed you'd really have to ask the team why they picked me."
What makes De Silvestro's qualifying run even more remarkable is that one of the patriarchal families of IndyCar Racing, Andretti Racing, could only qualify three of their five cars - and one of those spots was bought from AJ Foyt.
De Silvestro will be in 24th spot when the flag drops with the three other women drivers in the field - Danica Patrick, Pippa Mann and Anna Beatriz - in 26th, 32nd and 33rd respectively.
"Qualifying is the most nervous part of the whole time with so many cars trying to qualify," she said.
De Silvestro won the Indy 500 rookie of the year in 2010 after finishing 14th.
Foyt agreed, and Hunter-Reay took over a car driven by Brazilian Bruno Junqueira that had qualified. But because of the switch, Hunter-Reay's No. 41 car will start at the rear of the field.
"[It's an] awkward position to say the least," Hunter-Reay said. "I feel absolutely horrible for Bruno. But this whole deal is not about me.
"I talked to Bruno right after this," Hunter-Reay said. "He understands it's big-league sports."
Patrick denies jump to NASCAR
Danica Patrick denied a report this week that she was making plans to definitely switch to NASCAR stock-car racing full-time next year.
"That is not true at all, not at all," Patrick said. "There haven't been any decisions made."
Patrick, 29, has been competing part-time in NASCAR's second-level Nationwide Series around her IndyCar schedule and has said she is mulling whether to choose one series or the other in 2012 or continue dividing her season.
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