LEXINGTON, OH — Simon Pagenaud had a frightening practice crash on Saturday morning at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. A brake line failure caused his No. 60 Dallara-Honda to not be able to slow entering Turn 4 and as a result, he took a wild ride for which he tumbled end over end nearly 10 times.
“Oh shit, it’s going to hurt,” Pagenaud said during an interview on Peacock. “It was a hell of a ride for sure. Something broke, and I couldn’t slow down. I tried to make the corner anyway. I know that gravel is deadly. Michael Andretti has done it . I guess I’m joining another legend, so that’s cool, but that was just trying to bail out.
“The car took off, hit the gravel and just rolled. Just glad I didn’t go over the tire wall. So glad we have the aeroscreen. I’m really thankful for IndyCar and the aeroscreen safety.”
Pagenaud was released from the care center, but not clared to drive. He’ll have to be reevaluated on Sunday morning to determine his status in the Honda Indy 200 (1:30 p.m. ET, USA, INDYCAR Radio Network).
“I’m ready,” Pagenaud said. “I can get back in now,” Pagenaud said. “It’s not a problem. It’s going to be the doctor’s decision. It was a pretty big hit. We’ll see what they say. There’s a protocol to follow. Again, that’s to keep the drivers safe.
“We’ll see what they say. Very unfortunate day for us. But I got some TV time, I guess.”
Conor Daly is on standby in case Pagenaud isn’t cleared.
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