By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief
INDIANAPOLIS – Verizon IndyCar Series rookie Spencer Pigot took a hard hit heading into Turn 1 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during Wednesday afternoon’s Indy 500 practice.
The reigning Indy Lights Series champion’s Honda spun completely around on corner entry, hitting the wall with the left side of the car, receiving heavy damage but not catching air while becoming the first driver to crash during preparations for the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500.
Most notably, this was the first accident with the domed skids on the underbody of the chassis and the new rear wing beam flaps in the rear wheel pod assembly – which were designed to keep the cars from going airborne.
“I feel fine physically. Just feel bad for the guys,” Pigot said. “I’m not really sure what happened there. Before I knew it I was facing backwards. Difficult day before that. I thought we were getting through our plan. It’s a pretty big setback. Hopefully we can get back out in the next day or two.
“The car was feeling pretty good. Car was making improvements. Everything was feeing good. Just not sure what happened. We’ll have to look and see what caused the spin. It’s a big setback for me and the team. It’s not what you want to happen on the second day.”
Pigot was checked and released from the Infield Care Center.
Image: Joe Skibinski/INDYCAR
