INDIANAPOLIS — IndyCar owner Roger Penske says he is certain series officials will investigate what led to a wheel coming loose during a crash in the Indianapolis 500 and sailing over the catch fence and grandstands before hitting a parked automobile. «We haven't had a wheel come off in a long time,» Penske said. «We were very fortunate we didn't have a bad accident.» The cars are supposed to have a tether that keeps the wheel attached even in the event of a wreck.
But when Felix Rosenqvist hit the wall between Turns 1 and 2 in the closing laps Sunday and Kyle Kirkwood launched off the rear of his car into the wall, the wheel went soaring over the fence and the corner of the grandstand before landing in the parking lot.
The wheel traveled about 350 yards before crushing the front of a fan's parked Chevrolet. With a crowd of more than 300,000 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and a full grandstand in Turns 1 and 2, it was fortunate nobody was seriously injured. «I saw what happened, saw it bounced on top of a building and went and hit a car over there, which obviously is very concerning,» said Penske, whose driver Josef Newgarden won the race, giving Team Penske its 19th Indy 500 victory.
Penske closed on the purchase of IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway about three years ago. «We have tethers on the wheels, and it was a rear wheel that came off,» Penske said after Sunday's victory celebration, «and I'm sure the guys at IndyCar will look at it, will determine what really happened.» During the 1987 Indianapolis 500, one fan was killed when a tire flew into the top row of the grandstands.