INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis 500 rookie Robert Shwartzman's memorable month of May ended with a terrifying crash on pit road.
Shwartzman, who bested some of the best drivers in the world to win the pole a week earlier, was coming into his stall after 87 laps when he locked up his brakes. That sent his red, green and white car — the colors of the flag of Italy, where Prema Racing is based — sliding into four of his crew members, one of whom had to be taken away on a stretcher.
The damage caused by the wreck was enough to end their hopes of finishing “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”
“I honestly felt really strange brakes when I was coming slow in pit lane. I locked up both front tires, which usually isn't the case,” Shwartzman said. "I wasn't sure if it was the brakes or because the tires were cold. I tried to be very slow. But as soon as I touched my brakes, my whole front was lost and I went right into the guys.
“It was really scary,” Shwartzman said, “because at the moment I braked I was just a passenger.”
Shwartzman was among many drivers — rookies and veterans alike — who had massive problems on pit lane during the race, which was won by Alex Palou following a late-race pass of Marcus Ericsson for the lead.
Alexander Rossi's day ended when a fire broke out under his car. Rinus Veekay lost his brakes as he entered pit road, sending him in a spin down the narrow lane. Colton Herta was caught speeding and had to absorb a drive-through penalty.
But none of the problems was quite as dramatic as the rookie with dual Israeli and Russian nationality.
Shwartzman had captured the public's imagination with his stunning pole-winning ride for Prema Racing, a powerful European team but an Indy 500 newcomer. He was the first rookie to win the pole since 1983, then used the platform that it afforded him to make a passionate plea for peace in both the Middle East and Ukraine.
“It's just really sad,” Shwartzman said, “because we did such good work in qualifying. But it's the Indy 500. Anything can happen. A lot of strong drivers are out of the race or behind. This is the Indy 500. This happens.”
Oh-so close, again
Pato O'Ward came up just short once again in the Indy 500, a race that he acknowledged keeps breaking his heart.
The popular Mexican driver, who has twice finished second, wound up fourth behind Palou, Ericsson and David Malukas. He was in contention after the final round of pit stops, but he couldn't make any passes to pick up any positions.
It was the fifth time in his six tries that O'Ward finished sixth or better. That includes another fourth-place finish in 2021.
Up in flames
Rossi led laps early and had a fast car for Ed Carpenter Racing until a pit stop 73 laps into the race, when fire erupted under the No. 20 car. It quickly engulfed the 2016 race winner and his fueler, who were quickly doused by emergency crews.
The fire briefly spread to the other side of the pit wall, where the large fuel tanks are kept, but was quickly extinguished.
“It’s always a terrible situation, and it's so disappointing. It was such a phenomenal race car,” Rossi said. “It's disappointing. All I know is the gearbox was starting to go up in temp a lot. I don’t know. It was a gearbox issue.”
Hopes stall out
Ryan Hunter-Reay had positioned himself for an improbable run at a second Indianapolis 500 win when he pit from the lead with 31 laps remaining, only to stall the car in his box. The team was unable to quickly fire it and his chances were done.
Hunter-Reay, who won the 2014 race, was in a backup car after his primary car caught fire during the final practice of Carb Day on Friday. He made it back to pit lane but had to quickly escape the car, which sustained too much damage to repair.
Hunter-Reay had a chance to do install laps early Saturday, but the race was the first time the backup had been up to speed.
___
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Dave Skretta, The Associated Press
