Tensions and danger on rise for drivers ahead of Indy 500

The air-born cars of Helio Castroneves and Josef Newgarden raised some eyebrows, but it was the crash from James Hinchcliffe, where a piece of the suspension simply broke while he was completing a turShow more

Agencies

Five crashes, some involving cars getting airborne and flipping over, have raised concerns before Sunday’s 99th running of the Indianapolis 500.

The IndyCar Series’ oval classic, 200 laps around the 2.5-mile (4km) Indianapolis Motor Speedway, will start with New Zealand’s Scott Dixon in pole position followed by Australian Will Power and France’s Simon Pagenaud.

But tensions are raised at the “Brickyard” after wrecks that prompted officials to alter qualifying specifications to reduce turbo boost and increase downforce to slow cars in hopes of avoiding more crashes.

Three-time Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves went airborne and had his car flip end over end in practice.

Britain’s Pippa Mann stayed on the track when she hit the outer wall and outer pit wall entrance, but American Josef Newgarden also found the safety fencing in a testing session.

When two-time pole sitter Ed Carpenter’s car went airborne in a crash ahead of qualifying, IndyCar officials made last-minute safety changes, controversially as only Chevrolet-powered cars had the issue at speed and those powered by Honda engines were not affected.

Officials forced teams to use slower race set-ups for time trials, but there is some uncertainty about what will happen when the full 33-car field takes the green flag even after the qualifying slowdown.

“We don’t want to see cars getting in the air and there’s only a few tools that you have in the toolbox to use and IndyCar, whether it’s the right or wrong situation, for safety, it’s kind of all they had,” Dixon said. “If you look at oval racing as some of the most dangerous, it’s always in the back of your mind.”

James Hinchcliffe received pelvic and leg injuries in a practice session, and Britain’s Justin Wilson said other drivers are worried.

“Helio’s crash got our attention, but that sort of thing has happened in racing for years,” he said. “When James’s crash happened, that was when people realised we could get hurt doing this.”

Success cannot be too sweet for Kimball

Race day is all about numbers for Charlie Kimball, one of the few diabetics who make a living racing cars.

Before he drives in the Indianapolis 500 tomorrow, the American will check his blood-glucose level at least five times. He follows a strict pre-race diet and uses a special in-car monitor to test his blood-sugar levels. After the chequered flag waves, he checks it again.

“The most important thing is for me to learn from every opportunity, every race, to evaluate the race and see if I did the job right,” Kimball said.

He was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 2007 and has refused to allow it to stop his steady climb in motor racing.

After starting his career in karts, moving to cars and running in several European series, he returned to the US in 2008 and showed promise in open-wheel cars. In 2010, he finished fourth in the Indy Lights series.

A year later, Chip Ganassi hired him to drive full-time. He won his first race at Mid-Ohio in 2013 and has had two seasons with 10 top-10 finishes.

In addition to the blood-glucose monitor inside the cockpit of his No 83 car, Kimball also uses a special water bag that has two bladders. One side contains water, the other orange juice. By flipping a small valve designed in part by his engineers and his father, a former race-car engineer, he can drink the orange juice if readouts indicate he needs some help.

“It’s really important with the speeds we go to keep it in the right range to be competitive,” Kimball said.

He will eat protein and complex carbs tonight and tomorrow morning, before the race. He will test his blood-glucose level a handful of times before driver introductions and continually throughout the race.

Kimball knows that getting those numbers right is the only way he can win.

Ear has Huertas out of Indy 500

Carlos Huertas is out of the Indianapolis 500 because of an inner ear condition, Dale Coyne Racing said. Tristan Vautier was named as his replacement and the car will be moved to the back of the 33-car field for the race.

Huertas, 23, had been set to start from the 18th grid.

He will also have to have further evaluation before being cleared to return to competition.

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