Simon Pagenaud involved in scary crash during IndyCar practice Saturday morning
LEXINGTON, Oh. (WISH) — NTT IndyCar Series driver Simon Pagenaud walked away from a scary practice crash Saturday morning at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
The Meyer Shank Racing driver crashed in turn four during a practice session for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio.
His car barrel rolled nearly seven times during the incident.
“It was a hell of a ride for sure,” Pagenaud said in a news release. “Something broke and I couldn’t slow down. I tried to make the corner anyways, I was like, ‘Maybe I can.’ I know that gravel is (trouble). Michael Andretti has done it {in 1998}. I guess I’m joining another legend, so that’s cool.
“I was just trying to bail out. It’s downhill, which is nuts. Basically, the car took off. I hit the gravel and it just rolled. So, just glad I didn’t go over the tire wall, and so glad we have the aero screen. I’m really thankful for IndyCar and the aero screen safety.”
Pagenaud, the 2016 IndyCar champion and 2019 Indy 500 champion, was evaluated and released by the IndyCar Medical team. He was not cleared to return to action on Saturday, per protocol.
Pagenaud will be evaluated Sunday morning. Meyer Shank Racing has asked Conor Daly to be on standby should Pagenaud not be able to race.