Dixon survives ‘wild ride’ crash
Kiwi motorsport ace Scott Dixon has walked away unharmed from a terrifying high speed crash at the Indy 500.
The IndyCar driver was on lap 54 when disaster struck as lapped driver Jay Howard slipped up off the racing line on the oval circuit at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, sliding up the track and into the top wall.
As Howard’s car deflected back onto the track he wiped out Dixon, whose car was catapulted into the air in a terrifying spin with flames bursting out underneath. Dixon’s car was severed on impact and splintered in mid-air.
When Dixon’s Chip Ganassi car came to a rest it was a splintered wreck. Dixon walked away, seemingly unhurt. Howard also walked away.
Speaking to ESPN after the crash, Dixon described the incident as a ‘‘wild ride’’ saying he was happy that everyone was unharmed.
‘‘Just a little bit beaten up there, it was definitely a bit of rough ride. I’m just bummed for the whole team though,’’ Dixon said, clearly unable to continue in the race.
Dixon had a split-second choice to make as Howard’s car loomed in front of him, and in this instance the 2008 winner of the fabled IndyCar race chose wrong, turning towards danger rather than away from it.
‘‘I think when you make those decisions about which way to go, you’re hoping that Jay was going to stay against the wall but I’d already picked that way to go,’’ Dixon said, adding, ‘‘so just happy he’s OK too.’’
Understandably emotional, Dixon’s wife Emma described just how serious she thought things were as she watched the incident unfold. ‘‘I really didn’t think he was coming home. That was the worst thing I’ve ever seen.’’
Referring to the fact Dixon had last weekend powered his way to pole position before that night being robbed at gunpoint in a fastfood restaurant drive-through, Davies-Dixon said it had been an insane week of highs and lows.
‘‘It’s just not our week, it’s just not meant to be.’’
She also added how thankful she was for not only the safety features of the car that allowed Dixon to walk away from the crash but the fast work of the safety crew. ‘‘I was watching it and everything was moving really slowly in that moment for me.’’
Dixon was unnervingly cool about the crash, also heaping praise on the sport’s safety protocols. ‘‘It’s just a wild ride and you have to hold on and believe in the safety progress that we’ve made over the last many years,’’ Dixon said.
Japan’s Takuma Sato won the race.