Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves walked away from a significant crash today at Homestead-Miami Speedway as practice for Saturday’s season-ending IndyCar Series race, the Firestone Indy 300, continues.
Castroneves had a failure in the left rear corner of his car before spinning and slamming the Turn 2 wall. He was slow to get out of the car, but he walked away. Indianapolis Star
“The left rear suspension collapsed,” said Castroneves, a Coral Gables resident who can boast six top five finishes and seven top 10s, but no wins, in seven races here. “When you have three wheels, normally it doesn’t go well.”
It got better for Castroneves. The team hustled to prep a backup car and Castroneves qualified 11th in the 23-car field. It’s the first time Castroneves has failed to qualify among the top 10 at Homestead-Miami, where he’s finished second twice.
“Because we were in such a rush to get out there, we probably went a bit conservative on the setup,” Castroneves said. “If we didn’t get to qualify, we would have had to start last, so 11th isn’t that bad.” Chicago Tribune
