Sports

WATCH: Indy 500 Crash Sends Tire Flying Over Fans’ Heads

‘SPARKS FLYING’

Kyle Kirkwood’s tire flew over fans’ heads and landed in the track’s parking lot, hitting a stationary car.

2023-05-28T195141Z_271306072_MT1USATODAY20776787_RTRMADP_3_INDYCAR-INDIANAPOLIS-500_dtipa5
Jef Richards/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters

A nail-biting crash sent a tire soaring over a fan-packed grandstand at the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, flipping one car and bringing the race temporarily to a halt. With fewer than 20 laps to go, Felix Rosenqvist brushed the wall and spun out of control, clipping Kyle Kirkwood, who lost a tire in the subsequent crash. While the tire flew over fans’ heads, Kirkwood’s car flipped and skidded to a stop on the track. The tire landed in the venue’s parking lot, hitting a parked car, according to ESPN. No one was hurt by the tire, but one person reportedly suffered minor injuries as a result of debris from the crash, according to IndyCar. Kirkwood was helped out of his car by safety workers, flashing a thumbs-up to the emergency crew and waving to the crowd, USA TODAY reported. “All I know is I was up in the fence, which is never a good thing in IndyCar. Thank God these cars are so safe,” Kirkwood told the Associated Press. “I saw sparks flying everywhere. That’s the scary part. You’re upside-down and you’re kind of stuck at that point.”