While Will Power was driving under the checkered flag after 250 laps of NTT IndyCar Series racing on Sunday at Iowa Speedway, behind him in Turn 2, all hell was breaking loose as four trailing drivers racing to the finish line crashed and two took flight.
The incident started with A.J. Foyt Racing’s Sting Ray Robb, who came upon an off-the-pace Alexander Rossi from Arrow McLaren exiting Turn 2, and attempted to steer left in avoidance, but didn’t clear him, rode over Rossi’s left-rear tire, and was fired skyward and tipped into a series of barrel rolls as he crashed down — upside down — and slid to a stop in Turn 3.
Behind him, the crashing Rossi was followed by the crashing Kyle Kirkwood from Andretti Global and Ed Carpenter from his own team, who rode over Rossi and landed atop Kirkwood’s aeroscreen.
A look at the multi-car incident on the final lap at @IowaSpeedway.
Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter and Kyle Kirkwood have been seen and released. pic.twitter.com/EWvkQFSbhZ
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) July 14, 2024
Rossi, Kirkwood and Carpenter were seen and released by IndyCar Medical. The series announced Robb was, “Awake, alert, and in good condition,” and would be transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.
“He’s pretty much like a parachute when you’re sitting perpendicular to the road,” Kirkwood said of Robb’s car. “When I lifted out of the throttle in the corner, I suddenly spun myself.”
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1408]
For Carpenter — who was taken out in Saturday’s racer when Sunday’s winner Will Power hit and spun Pietro Fittipaldi, who in turn hit Carpenter — it was a double dose of misfortune that felt highly unnecessary.
“I’m fine. Just angry,” he said. “I knew Alex was off pace up ahead. My spotter told me a few laps before. It looks like Sting Ray misjudged the closing rate somehow, even though it was clear Alex was slow. And then I spun trying to get down. Just a shame. Two days in a row. Two accidents that I was just a victim of. I just hate it for the team. Brutal.”
