Skip to main content
Wednesday, November 11, 2026Nov 11
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

Indianapolis 500 drivers manage to keep cars on ground

Stefano Coletti, of Monaco, middle, hits the car driven by Sebastian Saavedra, of Colombia, as Jack Hawksworth, right, of England, hits the wall in the closing laps of the 99th running of the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 24, 2015. (AP Photo/Kirk Stierwalt)
Stefano Coletti, of Monaco, middle, hits the car driven by Sebastian Saavedra, of Colombia, as Jack Hawksworth, right, of England, hits the wall in the closing laps of the 99th running of the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 24, 2015. (AP Photo/Kirk Stierwalt) Stefano Coletti, of Monaco, middle, hits the car driven by Sebastian Saavedra, of Colombia, as Jack Hawksworth, right, of England, hits the wall in the closing laps of the 99th running of the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 24, 2015. (AP Photo/Kirk Stierwalt)

By Associated Press 4 min read

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Derrick Walker looked and sounded relieved after Sunday’s Indianapolis 500.

Five crashes, no serious injuries and no cars in the air – a good day for IndyCar’s biggest race and a welcome one for Walker, who heads competition for the series.

“It showed the decision we made in qualifying made a big difference,” Walker told The Associated Press in Gasoline Alley. “We had a great race, that’s the takeaway from today.”

For Walker, the race may have been the easiest part of May.

The debate over how fast qualifying speeds came to a frightening end when three drivers – three-time race winner Helio Castroneves, two-time Indy pole winner Ed Carpenter and Josef Newgarden, Carpenter’s teammate – all got their cars turned backward and flung upside-down during a five-day span of practice. None of them was seriously injured.