INDIANAPOLIS – Alex Palou, already safely qualified in the field for the Fast Nine at the 105th Indianapolis 500, crashed on his second qualifying attempt when he hit side-first into the turn two SAFER barrier at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Saturday.
Palou, who had qualified seventh, took a qualification attempt from the slow lane, which meant he did not have to withdraw his previous qualification speed from earlier Saturday. However, that No. 10 NTT DATA Honda has now been involved in a crash and that car will have to be repaired to maintain his position.
Palou, the 24-year-old driver from Spain, scored his first NTT IndyCar Series victory on April 18 at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. As he was on his second lap of this second attempt, Palou’s car began to kick back coming out of turn one. He corrected it, but as it went through the south short chute, the rear of the car broke loose again and the popular Spaniard hit the wall.
Palou was checked and released from the IU Health Infield Care Center and cleared to drive.
“Yeah, I’m just a bit frustrated,” Palou said. “Chip Ganassi Racing gave me the fastest car and I was pushing to be even faster, and I lost it. We’re going to try to fix it for tomorrow and go back out. We have the best cars here and I lost it.
“It’s not that I was pushing harder on this run, but I tried to be faster in the heat with less downforce. Sorry for all the sponsors and team, but I’m going to go back and be fast tomorrow. There is no way you can get a car, especially when you lose it at rear entry. Hopefully, the team can get the car fixed and we can get back on.”
Chip Ganassi Racing is repairing the car and the team is in no hurry to get the car back on track Saturday. According to team manager Barry Wanser, the team will decide if it will repair the crashed car or prepare the backup.