Penske: IndyCar will definitely investigate the wheel that flies over the rack from the 500 . Indy wreck

INDIANAPOLIS – IndyCar owner Roger Penske says he’s certain that series officials will investigate what led to the wheel becoming loose during a crash in the Indianapolis 500, causing it to crash over a fence. barriers and stands before landing on a parked car.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve had a wheel come off,” Penske said. “We were very fortunate not to have had a bad accident.”

The cars are said to have a tether that keeps the wheel mounted even in the event of a wreck. But when Felix Rosenqvist hit a wall in Round 1 and Turn 2 on Sunday’s final turn, and Kyle Kirkwood dashed from the back of his car into the catch fence, the wheel sped past the fence and the corner of the stands before landed in the parking lot.

The wheel moved about 350 meters before hitting a fan who was parking in front of it chevrolet. With the crowd of more than 300,000 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the packed stands at Rounds 1 and 2, fortunately no one was injured.

Penske, the driver, said: ‘I witnessed what happened, saw it bounce on top of a building and hit a car over there, which is obviously very disturbing. Josef Newgarden won the race, giving Team Penske its 19th victory at the Indy 500.

Penske completed the purchase of IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway about three years ago.

“We have a tether on the wheel, and that’s the rear wheel that came out,” Penske said after Sunday’s victory celebration, “and I’m sure the folks at IndyCar will look at it, will determine what’s going on. what really happened.”

In the Indianapolis 500 in 1987, a fan was killed when a tire flew into the top row of the stands. It jumped out of Tony Bettenhausen’s car, then bounced off the front of Roberto Guerrero’s car, before landing among the fans.

During a 1998 Michigan International Highway race involving CART – which later became part of IndyCar – Adrian Fernandez crashed and a tire and other components flew into the stands. Three fans were killed and six others injured that day.

The following year, three fans were killed and eight injured at Charlotte Motor Speedway when a tire and other debris flew into the stands during an Indy Racing League event. The race has been canceled and the IndyCar has yet to return to the highway.

Those incidents led to the development of lanyards that were supposed to keep the wheels attached.

The owner of the Chevrolet that suffered heavy damage on Sunday was Robin Matthews, a race fan from Indianapolis. Her car, which she calls a “snowball”, must be drag leave because of the damage. She was treated with a chance to kiss the brick yard, and Indianapolis Motor Speedway President J. Douglas Boles gave her a ride home.

IndyCar said one person was hit by other debris but was examined and removed from the care center at the scene.

John Green, an author from Indianapolis, tweeted: “I was at this turn. “It’s a relief that everyone seems to be fine. Witnessing a wheel fly past my friends at 150 mph is not an experience I can’t wait to repeat.”

Rosenqvist and Kirkwood were also uninjured in the wreck, although the latter were well away. Kirkwood rose into the air after impact and landed upside down against a wall, skidding several hundred yards as sparks shot from his car.

“That’s the scary part,” Kirkwood said. “You’re upside down and you’re stuck at that point.”

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