Another day of practice for the Indianapolis 500 brought with it yet another violent-looking crash as Josef Newgarden was the latest victim of the seemingly unstable Chevrolet aero package at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Driving through turn 1, Newgarden saw his car snap loose, loop around, and hit the wall nose first. His Chevrolet then dug into the SAFER barrier with his left side-pod, the resulting contact sending his car in the air backwards before it rolled over and landed on his air box.
Visibly shaken, Newgarden immediately left his car and was transported to the infield care center. He was checked and released and has been cleared for competition.
Newgarden said everything happened really quickly.
“I don’t know what to think of it. We were just going out there for a run and it was a pretty crazy hit,” Newgarden said. “I don’t think there’s any concern right now but I haven’t even talked to my guys yet, so I’m not sure.
“I was pretty impressed by the hit, it was a hard hit. I feel fine. I hit my hand a little bit and I think I got a bruise, but other than that, I’m fine. We make these cars as safe as we can… I feel very safe in them. We’re always looking for more, but i think they’re about as safe as we can make them right now.”
Newgarden had achieved a best lap of 225.652 mph (set on Wednesday) and had logged a total 287 laps throughout the week.
The crash occurred one day after a similar incident on Wednesday where Helio Castroneves inexplicably lost control of his Chevrolet and flipped upside down in the South Chute of the storied speedway. On Tuesday, a Simona de Silvestro fuel leak ignited a fire, marking three consecutive days of hazard in the IndyCar paddock.
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