Robin Matthews, whose car was damaged at the Indianapolis 500 after a crash sent a tire spinning over the grandstands, will get a new vehicle.
According to an Indianapolis Motor Speedway spokesperson, Penske Entertainment will provide Matthews with a new car. The incident occurred with less than 20 laps to go in Sunday’s race when Felix Rosenqvist and Kyle Kirkwood collided and Kirkwood’s rear left tire bounced off the track and flew over the crowd in Turn 2.
A red flag halted the race after that crash, and there were two more red flags before Josef Newgarden won by beating Marcus Ericsson in a one-lap shootout.
“I didn’t see it come down,” said Matthews, a racing fan from Indianapolis. “I came down and they said, ‘Robin, it’s your car!’ I thought, ‘No.’ I thought somebody was pranking me. It’s a car. It’s fine.”
PRANK?Indianapolis 500 fan whose car was hit by flying tire: ‘Thought somebody was pranking me’
One spectator received treatment at the infield medical center with minor injuries related to debris flying. An IMS spokesman said at the time that there were no injuries related to the tire.
“I was in this turn,” Indianapolis author John Green tweeted. “Hugely relieved everyone appears to be OK. Watching a wheel fly over my friends at 150 miles per hour is not an experience I’m anxious to repeat.”
