Posted at 1:29 p.m., Sunday, August 5, 2007
Autos: Seven drivers involved in IndyCar crash
Associated Press
BROOKLYN, Mich. — Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti walked away from a spectacular and frightening six-car crash today during the Firestone Indy 400 at Michigan International Speedway.Franchitti, who came into the race leading the IndyCar Series points and having finished all but one lap this season, had led most of the race and was working hard to hold off Dan Wheldon on lap 144 of a scheduled 200 on the 2-mile oval when the two touched wheels on the backstretch at about 218 mph.
Franchitti's car turned sideways and flipped over Wheldon's car high into the air, at one point with its nose pointing straight toward the ground. As Franchitti's open-cockpit car came down, upside down, Scott Dixon, who was seeking his fourth straight victory and is chasing Franchitti in the points, drove into and under the Scotsman's flying car, nearly getting hit in the helmet.
Before the melee was through, three-time series champion Sam Hornish Jr., former Michigan winner Tomas Scheckter and A.J. Foyt IV also were involved.
"I had a very fast car today and I was just trying to stay ahead of Dan," said Franchitti, whose parents and sister were at the race and rushed to the infield hospital to make sure he was OK. "All of a sudden I found myself up in the air, backwards about 30 feet in the air. I was just hoping it wasn't going to hurt when I came down.
"I was just thinking, 'Hang on tight.' You've got the belts and the HANS (head and neck restraint) device and you've just got to hope they do their job. I'm a lucky guy."
Franchitti said he had already called his wife, actress Ashley Judd, to tell her he was not injured.
He appeared to have the best car in the field. After stalling the engine on an early pit stop and falling back to 18th, Franchitti charged to second in just six laps and then regained the lead on a restart.
"That's the scariest thing I've ever been through," Scheckter said. "I saw Dario's car in the air and then it was just a mess."
There were no injuries reported, but Foyt, the grandson of four-time Indy winner A.J. Foyt Jr., was showing everyone tire marks from Franchitti's car on his helmet.
"Man, we were really lucky," Foyt said. "I'm just very thankful that Dario is OK, and everyone else."
Combined with several earlier crashes involving Helio Castroneves, Vitor Meira, Darren Manning, Sarah Fisher and Jon Herb, only seven of the 20 cars that started the race were left running, although Hornish's crew was trying to get him back in the race.
