Will Power led the field in second practice for Sunday’s Honda Indy 200, but the talking point of the session was Simon Pagenaud’s escape from a shunt that involved multiple high-speed barrel rolls.
Eight minutes into the session, Peacock’s cameras captured Pagenaud’s Meyer Shank Racing-Honda broadside but still at high velocity at the end of the back straight. The car launched over the strip of grass, before the right-side wheels dug into the sandtrap, and the car went through six-and-a-half rolls before the belly of the car hit the tire wall with ending up coming to rest on its rollhoop.
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The 2016 champion and 2019 Indy 500 winner radioed to the MSR team to inform them he was OK and that he had suffered brake failure. The AMR Safety Team stabilized the car on its side while Pagenaud slithered out, paused a couple of times to capture his breath, and then walked to the safety vehicle unassisted.
He later told NBC’s Dillon Welch, “It was a hell of a ride, for sure. Something broke and I couldn’t slow down. I tried to make the corner anyway. I know that gravel is deadly. Michael Andretti’s done it, so I’m joining another legend, so that’s cool! But I was just trying to bail out.
“It’s downhill, which is nuts: the car took off, it hit the gravel and I just rolled. I’m just glad I didn’t go over the tire wall. I’m so glad we have the aeroscreen. I’m really thankful for IndyCar and the aeroscreen safety.”
Asked if that was as bad a ride as he’s suffered in his career, Pagenaud said: “Definitely the wildest. Funnily enough, my first crash was exactly the same circumstance. So… yeah, interesting.”
Regarding his return to action for qualifying at 2.45pm ET, Pagenaud declared he was “ready, it’s not a problem” but admitted it would be the doctor’s decision.
Simon Pagenaud was seen and released after flipping multiple times. #INDYCAR pic.twitter.com/krg9D6ucTJ
— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) July 1, 2023
When the session restarted, the lap times remained as incredibly tight as in first practice, with Colton Herta of Andretti Autosport-Honda, Friday pacesetter Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren-Chevrolet and Scott Dixon covered by just half a tenth with 15 minutes to go.
Team Penske-Chevrolet’s Will Power then jumped to the top with his 14th lap, and clipped 0.28sec from that time on his 15th. That kept him a quarter-second clear of runaway points leader and 2021 champion Alex Palou of Ganassi, who also jumped up the order to second.
Santino Ferrucci brought out the second red flag with an off at Turn 12, although the AJ Foyt Racing machine looked fairly undamaged. That wasn’t the end of his drama as he spun over the hill at Turn 9, but managed to continue without stalling.
Arrow McLaren’s Felix Rosenqvist also had a spin toward the end of the session, while Scott McLaughlin of Penske was a late improver, jumping to sixth behind compatriot Dixon.
Graham Rahal, Christian Lundgaard and Jack Harvey confirmed the improved Rahal Letterman Lanigan-Honda form hinted at by Lundgaard’s pace at Road America two weeks ago and on Friday here at Mid-Ohio. The trio finished the session in seventh, 11th and 14th.
Another happy surprise was David Malukas, who slotted his Dale Coyne Racing-Honda into eighth, ahead of Kyle Kirkwood and Rosenqvist.
