The NASCAR Cup Series had a scheduled competition caution flag for Lap 12 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday. But as cars rolled down pit road for some early adjustments, there was a multi-car pileup near the pit road entrance, and a crew member was injured.
Just as NBC’s broadcast for the Brickyard 400 — officially called the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 Powered By Big Machine Records — explained how Indy’s pit road, with a 55 mile-per-hour speed limit, is the narrowest of all the Cup Series tracks, chaos broke out with contact and flying tires.
As cars coming to pit road piled up, a crew member for Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Team Penske Ford was pinched between the No. 12 and No. 15 car of Brennan Poole. Zach Price, the No. 12 team’s rear tire changer, was the crew member, per NBC’s broadcast, and his helmet popped off and he crawled out of the way.
It's a PILEUP on pit road at @IMS!
The #Brickyard400 is underway on @NBC: https://t.co/wKDI0aNMYn #NBCRacingWeekend pic.twitter.com/FrOHnH0Rkd
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) July 5, 2020
The race was red flagged, and safety crews attended to Price, who smiled and gave a thumbs up while on a stretcher.
Brave people that climb over the wall on pit road.
Happy to see the @Blaney pit crew member smiling with a thumbs up after a crash in the early goings of the #Brickyard400 on @NBC. pic.twitter.com/CCAak9kCCO
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) July 5, 2020
Blaney is told that the crew member's leg hurt. "He'll be all right." #nascar @NASCARONFOX
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) July 5, 2020
In addition to Blaney and Poole, Martin Truex Jr., Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Christopher Bell, Ryan Preece, Chris Buescher, Corey LaJoie and Justin Allgaier — who’s behind the wheel of the No. 48 Chevrolet and filling in for Jimmie Johnson, who tested positive for COVID-19 — were involved in the pit road wreck. And the race was over early for Truex, Allgaier, Stenhouse, LaJoie, Preece and Poole.
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