INDIANAPOLIS – Santino Ferrucci of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing was involved in the first major crash during practice for this year’s 105th Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday afternoon.
Ferrucci, who is an Indianapolis 500-only driver for the team owned by 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal, former comedian David Letterman and South Suburban Chicago industrialist Michael Lanigan, crashed in turn two at 4:14 p.m. Thursday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
As Ferrucci was running behind a group of cars, including one of his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing teammates Takuma Sato, he appeared to lose control of his Honda at the entrance of turn two. Ferrucci spun around and backed his car into the SAFER barrier in turn two.
Ferrucci, the 2019 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year, was able to get out of the car, but appeared to have some leg pain as he hobbled into the safety vehicle with support from members of the AMR Safety Team. He has been taken to the IU Health Infield Care Center at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for further evaluation.
“Dude, I thought he was going to do that for two laps in a row; I didn’t think he was actually going to do that,” fellow driver Conor Daly radioed to his team after the crash. “Oh, man, I’m so glad we weren’t part of that.”
According to IndyCar Medical Director Dr. Geoffrey Billows, Ferrucci is being transferred to IU Health Methodist Hospital in downtown Indianapolis for further imaging, but he did not see any evidence of a leg injury. Billows said Ferrucci was able to put weight on the injured leg and should be otherwise fine, pending the results of the image tests. He has since been evaluated and released.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Team Manager Rico Nault said Ferrucci’s crashed Honda race car is repairable and the team is in Gasoline Alley working on the damage to the car while practice continues.