Trouble in Turn Two
As qualifying was chugging along at a not-so scintillating pace, things suddenly took a somber tone as James Hinchcliffe lost control of his car and had a crash very similar to that of Pato O’Ward just one day earlier. The car went airborne and flirted with flipping over, before it slammed back into the track. But unlike O’Ward and the other drivers involved in crashes earlier this week – Hinch did not immediately hop out of the car.
The video boards showed what appeared to be a motionless helmet. To be honest, I feared the worst. Even after the AMR Safety Team arrived, from the camera angle you saw nothing that would make you think that this was routine. But suddenly Hinchcliffe hopped out and walked to the ambulance.
I was still convinced that Hinchcliffe had been knocked out and would not be cleared to drive, but we soon saw Hinchcliffe on the video boards outside of the Infield Care Center addressing the media saying that they will try again tomorrow. That may mean Monday, if the weather forecasts for Sunday holds true.
At the moment, Spencer Pigot is still atop the scoring pylon – but that means nothing as teams are just jockeying t get into the Fast Nine. Count on many positions changing in the late afternoon.
That’s going to do it for now. Please check back later.
George Phillips
Oilpressure 
May 18, 2019 at 6:42 pm
new qualifying format is a bit lunatic. also exciting and drama-filled. I think Donald Davidson said that it used to be cars were limited to 3 attempts, I think I see why. But it’s also exciting TV. I’d rather watch Indy qualifying than most races. How about Pippa? Penske and Ganassi are spinning that guaranteed spots are inevitable in this economy. I say Penske and Ganassi should stop using Nascar as a business model. No guaranteed spots. Hope there’s a break in the weather tomorrow. And everyone stays safe.
May 18, 2019 at 7:09 pm
I am wondering if the new safety piece on the bulkhead in front of the drivers is catching enough air when the cars are sliding sideways to tip them up on their sides. Apparently when it is edge on to the air stream, it is causing a lot of helmet buffeting. It must catch air when it is sideways.