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An Indianapolis 500 fan whose vehicle was damaged when a tire flew off a racecar and out of the track during the race will receive a new car, an Indianapolis Motor Speedway spokesperson said.
The spokesperson told The Indianapolis Star that Penske Entertainment will provide fan Robin Matthews, who is from Indianapolis, with a new car following the incident.
“I didn’t see it come down,” she said. “I came down and they said, ‘Robin, it’s your car!’ I thought, ‘No.’ I thought somebody was pranking me. It’s a car. It’s fine.”
The wheel came off with less than 20 laps to go in Sunday’s race when Felix Rosenqvist and Kyle Kirkwood collided. Kirkwood’s left rear tire bounced off the track and over the fence and the corner of the grandstand in the second turn before landing in a parking lot. It traveled about 350 yards before crashing into the front of Matthews’ parked Chevrolet.
A red flag halted the race after the crash, and two more red flags followed before Josef Newgarden won by beating Marcus Ericsson in a one-lap shootout.
One spectator received treatment at the infield medical center with minor injuries related to debris flying. An IMS spokesman said at the time that there were no injuries related to the tire
IndyCar owner Roger Penske says he is certain series officials will investigate what led to the tire sailing over the catch fence and grandstands.
“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.”
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I realize this is “small potatoes” to an organization the size of Penske Entertainment; however, it speaks volumes to their integrity and “doing the right thing”. I am not surprised, at all. Naturally, they are thankful that no one was seriously injured or killed due to the incident. Cars can be replaced. Lives cannot. But this also heralds the legacy of the Indianapolis 500, itself, which has always endeavored to focus on safety. As officials investigate why the tether failed and, knowing that even the most tested safety efforts can’t ensure 100% success, rest assured, should any improvements be noted, they will be put in place.
The Indianapolis 500 has always been a testing ground for safety features that now exist in our own vehicles. The Marmon “Wasp” which won the first Indianapolis 500, had a strange little triangular “box” sitting above the dashboard. That box contained a mirror which allowed Ray Harroun, the driver, to see what was behind him. We now know this as a “rear view mirror” and every vehicle in the world has one.
I concur. This was handled with a lot of class. Just another reason why I love the Indy 500! Well played, Mr. Penske.
And a shout out to Robin, the fan that had her car struck by the tire! She had the absolute best attitude about all of it in interviews I’ve seen. She could have been so negative on the Indy 500 and IMS. Instead, she says she will be back! And that was before she found out she was getting a new car.