INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Colton Herta crashed heavily in qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 on Saturday, hours after Marcus Armstrong was taken away on a stretcher after a scary practice crash of his own at nearly the same spot at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Both wrecks occurred in Turn 1, where winds gusting up to 30 mph that are largely blocked by the grandstands down the front stretch suddenly switch to behind the drivers. Herta’s car hit the outside wall and then landed on its side and slid into the short chute before coming to rest, and safety crews had to work together to flip it back on its tires.
Herta was able to climb out, but he needed help walking to a waiting medical vehicle for the trip to the infield care center.
“Just glad that everybody has been getting out OK. Those are some big hits,” said 2008 champion Scott Dixon, who had one of the fastest four-lap qualifying times early in the day. “It’s a bit sketchy.”
Herta’s wreck occurred just over an hour into the nearly 7-hour qualifying session, leaving Andretti Global little time to assess the damage and determine its next steps; Herta also would need to be cleared to drive to get back on the track. If they are unable to get back out Saturday, the best Herta could do would be the final row in last-chance qualifying Sunday.
Armstrong also was able to climb from his wrecked car but was immediately helped onto a stretcher. He gave a thumbs up as he was loaded into an ambulance and taken to the infield care center, where he was released about 90 minutes later.
“He is awake. He is alert. He’s doing well,” said Dr. Julia Vaizer, the medical director for IndyCar and the speedway.
Meyer Shank Racing immediately began working on Armstrong’s backup car, even though it was unclear who would attempt to qualify it. The team was getting help from Chip Ganassi Racing, a fellow Honda-powered program with a close relationship.
If Armstrong is unable to qualify the No. 66 — it was pulled from the lineup for its guaranteed qualifying attempt — there are few options available. Tony Kanaan, the 2013 Indy 500 winner, is the only driver to have completed the refresher course, but he is the team principal for Arrow McLaren, and completed it so that his team would have a backup should NASCAR star Kyle Larson have to abandon the May 25 race to make it to the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte.
There is also a conflict of interest between the Chevrolet-powered Arrow McLaren team and the Honda teams.
Other backup drivers could conceivably complete the refresher Sunday, allowing them to get into Armstrong’s car. But without making a run Saturday, the best they could do would be to nail down one of the final three spots on the 33-car grid.
“It looked a bit weird, to be honest,” Armstrong’s teammate, Felix Rosenqvist, said of the crash. “I haven’t seen any updates or anything. I just tried to look at the screen while I was sitting in the car. Hopefully they can bounce back quickly.”
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Dave Skretta, The Associated Press
