Penske: IndyCar Will Surely Investigate Wheel That Flew Over Indy 500 Crash Stands

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INDIANAPOLIS – IndyCar owner Roger Penske says he is confident series officials will investigate what caused a wheel to come loose during an Indianapolis 500 crash that ended up flying over the fence and into the stands before landing on a parked car.

“We haven’t had a wheel come off in a long time,” Penske said. “We were very lucky not to have a serious accident.”

Cars are supposed to have a strap that keeps the wheel together even in an accident. But when Felix Rosenqvist hit the wall in Turns 1 and 2 in the final laps on Sunday, and Kyle Kirkwood dove from the back of his car into the safety fence, the wheel flew over the fence and the corner of the grandstand before landing in the parking lot.

The wheel traveled about 350 yards before crashing into the front of a parked fan. chevrolet. With a crowd of over 300,000 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and a packed grandstand in Turns 1 and 2, it was lucky no one was hurt.

“I saw what happened, I saw it bounce off the top of a building and it hit a car there, which is obviously very concerning,” said Penske, whose driver Josef Newgarden won the race, giving Team Penske its 19th Indy 500 win.

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

“We’ve got wheel ties, and it was a rear wheel that came off,” Penske said after Sunday’s victory celebration, “and I’m sure the IndyCar guys will watch and determine what really happened.”

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

During a 1998 race at Michigan International Speedway involving CART, which later became part of IndyCar, Adrián Fernández crashed, sending a tire and other parts flying into the stands. Three fans died and six others were 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 was canceled and IndyCar has not returned to the circuit.

Those incidents that result in the development of the bindings that are supposed to hold the wheels together.

The owner of the Chevrolet that took the brunt of the damage Sunday was Robin Matthews, a race fan from Indianapolis. Her car, which she calls a “snowball,” had to be towed away due to damage. She was given the chance to kiss the brick patio, and Indianapolis Motor Speedway president J. Douglas Boles gave her a ride home.

IndyCar said one person was struck by other debris from the crash but was checked and released from the infield care center.

“I was on this shift,” John Green, an Indianapolis author, tweeted. Hugely relieved, everyone seems fine. Watching a wheel fly over my friends at 150 miles per hour is not an experience I’m looking forward to repeating.”

Rosenqvist and Kirkwood were also uninjured in the accident, although the latter had a good ride. Kirkwood went airborne after contact and landed face down against the wall, sliding several hundred meters as sparks flew from his car.

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

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