Driver Newgarden has broken bones
Crash results in shoulder, hand injuries; rain forces postponement to Aug. 27
Verizon IndyCar Series driver Josef Newgarden has a broken right shoulder and right hand and was at a Dallas hospital Sunday after being involved in a double-impact crash at Texas Motor Speedway.
The crash occurred on lap 42 of the Firestone 600, which was stopped shortly thereafter by a second day of heavy rain. The race, originally scheduled for Saturday night, was postponed to Aug. 27, a Saturday night event that will restart about 8:15 ET. James Hinchcliffe will be the leader at lap 72.
Conor Daly’s car lost traction exiting Turn 4, then hooked toward the outside wall, which is where Newgarden was passing him. The first contact took them hard to the right, then there was a secondary hit, with Newgarden’s cockpit exposed to the wall.
After a couple of minutes, Newgarden got out of the car under his own power before reaching for his right shoulder and slumping to the ground. He was loaded into an ambulance and taken to the track’s infield care center. He managed to wave to the crowd with his left hand.
Newgarden was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where President Kennedy was taken after being shot in 1963. He was expected to be released Sunday night, an IndyCar statement said.
Both cars were heavily damaged, and the energy-absorbing barrier was cut (and repaired as the field went around the track under caution).
“The car appeared to do what it was supposed to do; the SAFER barriers did what they’re supposed to do,” said Jay Frye, IndyCar president of competition and operations. “Thank goodness (Newgarden) is OK. He’s got a little shoulder (issue), a little wrist situation, but (he) was alert, conscious. They transported him to get a re-evaluation.”
Newgarden, 25, is one of the rising stars of the series with two career victories, both in 2015.
The Tennessee native has two podium finishes, including a third-place in last month’s Indianapolis 500, for Ed Carpenter Racing this year.
Newgarden, in his fifth year in the series, was ranked fourth in the standings heading into the Texas race.
Daly, who was not injured — “I didn’t even hit that hard,” he said — talked to Newgarden in the care center.
“I apologized to him in there because it was my mistake, for sure,” Daly said. “He’s a tough kid; I grew up with him. I feel so bad. To ruin someone’s race is never good.”
Daly, 24 and from Indiana, is racing full time in the series for the first time in his career. The Dale Coyne Racing rookie, who made one start in 2013 and five last season, notched his first career podium finish last weekend with a second place in the first race of the Detroit doubleheader.
Daly was one of the last due to pit just before the accident.
“It felt like the right rear just went and lost all grip and basically drifted from (Turns) 3 to 4,” he said. “I couldn’t get out of (the throttle) quick enough. It’s my fault. I lost it in front of Josef.”
After Saturday’s race was rained out, a second wave of heavy rain arrived Sunday about 4:15 p.m. local time, ending hope of resuming this weekend.
With more rain in the forecast for Monday, a busy week of testing ahead and several drivers needing to fly to France for the 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race, officials decided to postpone the event until later in the season.