INDIANAPOLIS – One year ago, Helio Castroneves was celebrating his fourth Indianapolis 500 victory in one of the most emotional moments in the 105 runnings of this great event.
During Wednesday’s Indy 500 Open Test, Castroneves ended up in a hard crash in the Turn 2 wall as his No. 06 Honda appeared to lose control leaving the pit exit at 5:10 p.m. Eastern Time. Castroneves’ Honda slid across the grass and ended up backing into the wall.
Castroneves was able to climb out of the car and surveyed the damaged car with the AMR Safety Crew. The car was brought back on the hook of a tow track back to the Meyer-Shank Racing garage in Gasoline Alley.
The crash happened early in the “All-Skate” session where all 32 cars were allowed to hit the 2.5-mile oval in group running.
The popular four-time winner from Brazil walked across the track and took the mandatory ride to the IU Health Infield Care Center at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to be checked by the IndyCar medical staff.
Prior to that, the only other incident was at the very beginning of the first session when Alexander Rossi, winner of the 100th Indianapolis 500 in 2016, spun leaving the pit entry lane on his installation lap.
Earlier in the day, all the rookie drivers in this year’s field passed the Rookie Orientation Program (ROP). Veteran drivers Sage Karam and two-time Indy 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya have not completed their refresher course but are allowed to compete with the rest of the field in practice.
The track returned to green for practice at 5:27 p.m ET with a full track of cars.