According to MotorSportsTalk, a component failure on James Hinchcliffe’s number 5 Arrow/Lucas Oil Schmidt Peterson Honda IndyCar sent him into the wall outside Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Turn 3. Hinchcliffe was transported to nearby IU Methodist Hospital with a thigh injury from the wreck.
The first Monday practice session for the Indianapolis 500 was only an hour in when a component failed on the right front of Hinchcliffe’s car, sending him straight into the wall outside Turn 3. Racer Sebastian Saavedra narrowly avoided a loose tire from the accident when he and another car caught up to the debris field left by Hinchcliffe’s accident. Hinchcliffe’s car briefly flipped on its side as it slid to a stop, eventually coming to a halt right-side-up on the track surface in Turn 4.
IndyCar confirmed that Hinchcliffe was awake and alert when responders came to his car, however, he was transported to IU Methodist Hospital for further evaluation. The series halted the practice session after Hinchcliffe’s accident.
Per Motorsport.com, IndyCar medical director Michael Olinger has confirmed that Hinchcliffe is currently in surgery for the injury sustained to his thigh.
Our thoughts are with James for a speedy recovery.
Update: IndyCar has revised their schedule for the rest of the day as follows:
Update #2: Honda confirmed that a pushrod failure in the front right suspension was the cause of the accident.
[Sidenote: This component failure is unrelated to the type of accident that forced IndyCar to slow cars down for qualifying.]
Contact the author at stef.schrader@jalopnik.com.