There have been a number of crashes during practice sessions for this year's Indy 500. Three, I think, included cars catching air and flipping. As a result, those in charge have adjusted the rules a bit to try to get things under control. The latest crash appears to have been different and happened this afternoon. James Hinchcliffe hit the wall hard! He was taken to a hospital and is reportedly having surgery on either his left thigh or pelvis, maybe both, details are sketchy. Here's video of today's crash. [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlbdpXb3FSg"]James Hinchcliffe crashes at Indianapolis 500 practice - YouTube[/ame]
Looks like they suspect (it may be more than suspicion) a suspension rocker arm. Indycar Racing News | Racer.com - UPDATE 5 - Indy 500: Hinchcliffe takes a hard hit in practice
ESPN has a bit on the wreck. James Hinchcliffe taken to hospital after wreck at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Mechanical failure they are saying. Front suspension broke.
I sure hope Hinch can make a complete & speedy recovery. That was a brutal hit. I love racing, but for the life of me can't understand why sane humans aim race cars at walls while doing 200 mph.
Qualifying is already complete. Hinchcliffe qualified 24th. They'll need a replacement, assuming they rebuild the car. Indianapolis 500 starting lineup: Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Position Driver 4-lap Average Speed (mph) 1 Scott Dixon 226.760 2 Will Power 226.350 3 Simon Pagenaud 226.145 4 Tony Kanaan 225.503 5 Helio Castroneves 225.502 6 Justin Wilson 225.279 7 Sebastian Bourdais 225.193 8 Marco Andretti 225.189 9 Josef Newgarden 225.187 10 J.R. Hildebrand 225.099 11 Carlos Munoz 225.042 12 Ed Carpenter 224.883 13 Oriol Servia 224.777 14 Charlie Kimball 224.743 15 Juan Pablo Montoya 224.657 16 Ryan Hunter-Reay 224.573 17 Graham Rahal 224.290 18 Carlos Huertas 224.233 19 Simona de Silvestro 223.838 20 James Jakes 223.790 21 Tristan Vautier 223.747 22 Alex Tagliani 223.722 23 Sage Karam 223.595 24 James Hinchcliffe 223.519 25 Conor Daly 223.482 26 Townsend Bell 223.447 27 Takuma Sato 223.226 28 Pippa Mann 223.104 29 Gabby Chaves 222.916 30 Sebastian Saavedra 222.898 31 Jack Hawksworth 222.787 32 Stefano Coletti 221.912 33 Bryan Clauson 220.523
Well, I heard they moved him to the ICU. That's progress. On the other hand it's probably also old news, ICU after surgery, and we likely won't hear much more until tomorrow.
I know I typed made, but it was supposed to be make a complete & speedy recovery. The fact they didn't chopper him out of the speedway may be a good sign. :fingerscrossed:
:cornut: This is routine if pulse became slow/fast/abnormal rhythm or if blood pressure was hypertensive/hypotensive during or after surgery. Jason
More serious than I expected. Quick safety team response key in critical Hinchcliffe crash (racer.com)
Hinchcliffe is expected to make a full recovery. From racer.com: Also, anyone who enjoys the technical stuff might like this article on the cause of the incident, part "lifing", etc. Indycar Racing News | Racer.com - Indy 500: Source of Hinchcliffe’s crash confirmed
Lot's of big bad arteries in the thigh, big time props to everyone who thought quick, you only have 10's of seconds to get that under control before it's too late.
I think I read they came up with a modified part before the race with some sort of anti-penetration flange to try to eliminate the same sort of thing happening again. Anyway, here's Hinchcliffe already leaving the hospital today. The guy steering the chair is Will Power...might explain the expression.
Oh, right, there was also a race. Juan Pablo Montoya wins the 2015 Indianapolis 500 (sbnation.com) Full article here. Montoya rakes in $2.4 million with Indy 500 win (indystar.com) Full article here. Those last 15 laps were pretty good. [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqMSIHQQ9mo"](HD) 2015 Indy 500 Incredible Final Laps - YouTube[/ame]
I thought the whole race was pretty damned good. 37 lead changes, it was a drivers race instead of one car running away. Indy needed a race like this; Indy is finally building on it's success, and doing so without Danica. The 500 is relevant again.