Two spectacular accidents put “salt and pepper” over the 500-mile race at Indianapolis, considered one of the most attractive competitions in the world. Viewers got the biggest scare when they saw the incident involving Kyle Kirkwood. The American driver’s single-seater was destroyed after it overturned, and one of the wheels broke the guardrail and ended up in the stands.
Terrible footage from the Indianapolis 500. How the accident was seen in the pilot’s cockpit
American Josef Newgarden (Penske) won the 500-mile race at Indianapolis, although he only started from 17th place on the starting grid. It is the first time in twelve appearances that the 32-year-old driver has won the legendary event. He was the IndyCar champion in 2017 and 2019, and now he has reached his second success this season. In total, since the beginning of his career, he has achieved 26 victories.
The podium was completed by the Swedish Marcus Ericsson (Chip Ganassi) and the American Santino Ferrucci (Dreyer & Reinbold Racing).
The race had several tense moments, but also two spectacular accidents. The one that raised the pulse of the spectators was the one involving Kyle Kirkwood, which occurred with 16 laps to go. The American driver attempted a “knife edge” overtake, but hit a car that had skidded, crashed into the wall and overturned. One of the wheels of the single-seater was torn off and ended up in the stands, after breaking through the protective wall. Fortunately, none of those present were hit.
Kyle Kirkwood did not suffer either and got out of the car without any problems, noted the journalists of The Sun. The viewers had access to the images from inside the cockpit, from the moment of this accident. They noted how calm the American pilot was, even though he was upside down and there were lots of sparks around him.
With nine laps to go, Newgarden moved into the race lead, but was overtaken by Sweden’s Marcus Ericsson. There were only four laps to go and things were looking very complicated. However, a multi-car collision ensued, and after the marshals showed the red flag, Newgarden was unstoppable and won the race.