More "uneasiness swept through Indianapolis Motor Speedway following yet another vicious crash" yesterday, as James Hinchcliffe's No. 5 Honda "got vertical, the fourth such Indy car in six days to experience that," according to Curt Cavin of the INDIANAPOLIS STAR. Hinchcliffe suffered an injury "that required surgery," and fellow driver Ryan Briscoe tweeted "about a suspension piece being driven through Hinchcliffe's left thigh." There is "nothing normal about what's happened this month," as none of the four drivers involved in the crashes -- Hinchcliffe, Helio Castroneves, Josef Newgarden and Ed Carpenter -- "have a history of oval crashes." There is an "uncertainty about what happens next, a point evidenced by IndyCar impounding Hunchcliffe's car and stopping Monday's practice to check all potentially relevant pieces." IMS is closed for practice "until Friday's hour-long Carb Day session" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 5/19). The AP's Jenna Fryer noted Hinchcliffe's car "did not go airborne ... but that might have been because half the car was destroyed." The crash was "unrelated to last week's wrecks," which all took place in Chevrolets, but it "was still ugly." It has been clear from the first race of the season that there "are many unknowns about the bodywork kits and IndyCar has been reacting nearly every week to situations that no one predicted," in part because they "didn't do enough testing" in the offseason. Some buzz around the Indianapolis 500 "can only help," but it "shouldn't be accidents followed by the appearance of an amateur hour in crisis management from series leadership creating the narrative leading into Sunday's race" (AP, 5/18).
INDYCAR CONCERNED: CBS' Vinita Nair notes the cars “were redesigned before the season to make them faster,” but after numerous crashes in practice, “officials put new rules in place on Sunday to slow the cars down” (“CBS This Morning,” 5/19). ESPN's Kevin Negandhi said the story from IMS "heading into the weekend has been safety.” Analyst Jon Beekhuis said IndyCar is "not necessarily concerned with the number of crashes" during Indy 500 practice, but they are "definitely concerned with the look of some of them." The crash that "definitely got everyone's attention was Helio Castroneves early in the week. ... After he hits (the wall), the way the car takes off into the air -- and it almost flies through the air like a piece of paper -- got everyone very, very concerned.” Castroneves noted the “aero kit is brand-new” and the engineering numbers can miscalculate the downforce needed, which “made the car spin out.” Castroneves: “People have to remember it’s still a very dangerous sport. We’re going over 230 miles-an-hour and it’s very tough to analyze because everything is so brand new” (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 5/19).
