By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief
FORT WORTH, Texas – Verizon IndyCar Series star Josef Newgarden has suffered a fractured right clavicle and a small fracture in his right hand following a horrifying crash in the Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway.
The incident happened on the exit of Turn 4 of the 1.5-mile oval when Newgarden was making a move to the outside of rookie Conor Daly, who lost the backend of his No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda before sliding into the Tennessee native.
The two made contact as Newgarden was put on his side and made heavy impact with the outside twice with the cockpit side of his No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet. Newgarden’s roll hoop dug into the SAFER barrier and created a hole that required extensive repair.
The 25-year-old needed assistance to exit his Indy car, and continued to point to his right shoulder before sitting next to his mangled machine.
After being evaluated by IndyCar medical personnel, Newgarden was airlifted to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas – from there the extent of his injuries became known.
“Thank you to Dallara, INDYCAR, the Holmatro Safety Team and everyone we work with at Texas Motor Speedway,” Newgarden said in a statement. “The car held up great and the response from the safety team was amazing.
“I’m banged up a little bit but I’m generally OK. That’s all thanks to IndyCar and all the work everyone within the series does. I am feeling a little pain but I hope to be ready to rock and go again soon.
“We had a great car today, it just did not go how we had planned. I feel bad for both Conor and myself but I’m glad Conor is OK as well.
“I’ll be back out there fighting as soon as I can. Luckily I am all right, thank you again to everyone who helped me.”
Only 71 of the 248 were completed before a red flag due to weather put the ultimate damper on what was already a difficult weekend for TMS and IndyCar officials. The event was eventually rescheduled for Saturday August 27.
