In case you forgot that a time change occurred overnight, here’s something to wake up your senses: a rear-brake failure on Verizon IndyCar Series driver Ryan Hunter-Reay’s car sent him barreling into a tire barrier on the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg street course. He was OK, but it was a hard hit.
The brake failure happened during during the morning warm-up session for the season opener on Sunday, and NBC Sports reports that Hunter-Reay slammed into these turn-10 tires right off of one of the fastest parts of the circuit. The turn comes immediately after a fairly long straightaway, and you can watch the brake failure from Hunter-Reay’s point of view right here:
The Indianapolis Star reports that Hunter-Reay’s front brakes engaged, but the back ones didn’t respond when he pressed the pedal. He’s just hoping that the problem doesn’t happen again in another, more dangerous turn on the track once the race gets underway, according to the Star.
Here’s what Hunter-Reay said while still in the car, according to NBC Sports:
“Brake pedal went to the floor. One of the scarier feelings you ever had in a car. Needed every bit of the tires,” he told IndyCar Radio afterward.
Yikes. If anything, hopefully Hunter-Reay’s scary view for this wreck helped jolt you awake after the time change.
Hat tip to Ryan!