Mike Conway airborne in Indy 500 wreck (video below)
The Indianapolis 500 auto race took place today. Dario Franchiti won, Mike Conway suffered some injuries to his left leg, ankels and knees from the wreck that split his car in 2 (video below) and yet, I had a few things stood out in my mind today.
- Dario Franchitti won the Indy 500, leading the most laps,
- NASCAR isn’t the only place that yellows can impact the race,
- NASCAR isn’t the only race series that can be impacted by fuel mileage race,
- That drivers get black flagged for blocking, (which confuses me,)
- Making stupid passes on the inside can net you “orthopedic challenges!”
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I haven’t missed an Indy 500 in over a … well, a very long, long time. Today I missed the start, but picked it up 7 laps in.
Franchitti had the car to beat and it was said that those who lead the most laps usually don’t win the race. Nice to see that dis-proven this time around.
I also took note of the press that Danica Patrick was receiving when she qualified pretty poorly, starting 23rd. I think she drove a patient race as the team made changes to the car on pit stops and taking advantage of various scenarios. She finished 5th.
There were some pit mishaps. For me the biggest pit crew mistake was when Will Power was given the green light to leave his pits, despite still being hooked up to the gas line.
Then there was the Scott Dixona and Matos synchronized mishaps where they lost their tires on the same pit road cycle pit. Wacky.
As cars had to pit for fuel, Dario Franchitti was being constantly reminded that they need to improve their gas mileage and get 4 mpg to the end of the race.
On the last lap, Franchitti outlasted the other cars that pitted for a splash of gas and won the race. But Franchitti won under yellow when just as he took the white flag, Mike Conway took what looked like a rather daring move and tried to pass deep on the inside of Ryan Hunter-Reay.
Mike Conway’s injuries to his left leg involve a compound fracture, torn ligaments and tendons in his knees and ankles.
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That’s a terrible wreck and despite Conway’s injuries, I’m glad he’s going to be alive to grumble about it!
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This was Franchitt’s 2nd Indy 500 win & his car owner, Chip Ganassi, just became the first race team owner to win both the Indy 500 and Daytona 500 in the same year!
The top-5 finishers in the Indy 500 were Dario Franchitti, Dan Wheldon, Marco Andretti, Alex Loyd and Danica Patrick. You can check out Motorsports Fanhouse for the entire finishing order of the field.
