Crashes highlight day at Indy

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Crashes highlight day at Indy
3 hours, 33 minutes ago


INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker)—It was “Crash Friday” at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with three drivers hitting the wall, including front row starter Ryan Briscoe.

Luckily for the driver from Sydney, Australia it was his backup car that he slammed hard into the outside wall in the first turn with about two hours left in Friday’s six-hour practice.

“It felt big; I hope it looked big,” Briscoe said of the crash.

As Briscoe entered the first turn, he got low on the track and the rear-end of his Dallara snapped loose, sending the car into the SAFER Barrier in Turn 1. A loud “boom” could be heard in the Gasoline Alley garages.

“I’m putting it down to some pickup on the tires,” Briscoe said. “The tires were getting down to the end of their life. The lap before I slowed down on the front straight to let Helio Castroneves by and I was up in the dusty part of the track. Marco Andretti went by me in Turn 3 and I had to go a little wide there.


“The following lap in Turn 1, I turned in and wasn’t even at full speed. I had no grip turning into the corner and around she went. It really took me by surprise. It doesn’t take much around here. It’s a bit of a shame.”

Briscoe was glad that the T-car isn’t going to be used in the 92nd Indianapolis 500 because the primary car has the outside of the front row from last Saturday’s qualifications.

It is the third crash for Briscoe this season. He crashed in the season-opening race at Homestead-Miami Speedway and the following week at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Although he didn’t crash at Japan, he brushed the wall in that race and was able to continue.

So far this season, the race at Kansas Speedway is the only IndyCar event where Briscoe has not made contact with the wall.

“I think I’ve been showing and as we go on I’ll be able to do that,” Briscoe said. “We are having a really strong month here. It’s really solid. This is an unfortunate accident. Hopefully that doesn’t reflect on what is going to happen in the race.

“It is good having a couple days of running left for me to get back up to speed and get my confidence back before we get into the race. We’ll go out Sunday to turn some laps, probably more for me than anything to get the confidence back and the way I have been feeling for this whole month. We’ll push through this. It’s nothing to dwell over.”

Despite Briscoe’s reputation as a “crasher” from his 2005 rookie season at Target/Chip Ganassi Racing, team owner Roger Penske has not lost confidence in the driver that took over the famed No. 6 ride that previously belonged to Sam Hornish Jr. before that driver left for NASCAR Sprint Cup.

“The crash we had at Homestead wasn’t his fault because he got involved with a slower car,” Penske said. “I don’t have any concern about Ryan. I think you saw Ryan under pressure in qualification weekend. He did a great job. We took another shot with him and he went out and put it on the front row.”

Penske believed the crash on Friday was for a variety of circumstances.

“They had trimmed the car out before he went out on that last run; when he got into traffic it was a little freer than he thought,” Penske said. “He ran 15 or 16 laps. It’s warmer and you lose the adhesion. We didn’t get in too high; there was no deflation of any tires.

“He was probably closer to the edge than he probably realizes.”

Penske said the team is fine, the car will be repaired and the primary car will be ready for Carb Day next Friday. That is the final practice for the 33-car starting lineup before the May 25 Indy 500.

Prior to the crash, Briscoe had the third-fastest speed in practice at 223.372 miles per hour. Indy 500 pole winner Scott Dixon was once again the fastest driver at 223.713 mph followed by Castroneves at 223.411 mph in another “T” car.

A “T” car is a backup car.

E.J. Viso of Venezuela was the first to hit the wall on “Crash Friday” when the new driver to the series stuffed into the third turn wall just 11 minutes after the track opened.

“We still don’t know the reason, it was our first day out in full fuel and we still don’t know the exact reason,” Viso said. “I was smooth like I needed to be. The car probably bottomed out. We were full of fuel and hadn’t been on the track for long. We still need to check the data on the computers.

“The back end came out pretty quickly but I couldn’t avoid it. I think I was lucky. The car was not really damaged. I feel lucky and want to jump in the car again as quick as possible so that I don’t think of what happened today with the crash. We have to qualify on Saturday and make sure that everything is all right.”

Viso drives for HVM Racing, which has just one IndyCar.

Thirty-minutes later, another Australian driver, Will Power, crashed in the first turn and made impact with the left side of the car with the wall. The car then slid into Turn 2 where it made secondary contact.

“There was a lot of blustery wind out there, and I just got caught out,” Power explained. “I wasn’t even up to speed yet, and the car came around on me, sending me into the wall.

“I am OK; I just have a few bumps and bruises on my knees and an ankle. Other than that, I feel fine. This is obviously a setback for KV Racing because of the track time we are going to lose, but I know the team will do what needs to be done and we will be ready to qualify tomorrow.”

Practice resumes Saturday morning at 10:15 a.m. EDT with Third Day Qualifications beginning at 12 noon and running to 6 p.m.

There are 22 spots remaining in the 33-car starting lineup for the May 25 500-Mile Race.


Crashes highlight day at Indy - IRL - Yahoo! Sports