INDYCAR: Stefan Wilson Out of Indy 500 After Crash, Graham Rahal Filling In
The last 24 hours have been extremely difficult for the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team. The organization was dealt another blow today when one of their cars, driven by Katherine Legge, was involved in a crash during practice. Legge was following a trail of cars entering Turn 1 about halfway through the session, when everyone began to check up, and she was unable to avoid the car in front of her, driven by Stefan Wilson. The two one-off entries collided with the outside wall, and their cars were destroyed. Legge was able to climb out under her own power, but Wilson needed assistance.
The AMR Safety Team was quickly on the scene, and took precautionary measures to make sure that Wilson was handled with extreme care. The Dreyer & Reinbold Racing driver was heading to IU Health Methodist Hospital for testing, but gave the crowd a "thumbs up" when he was being loaded into the ambulance. The team issued a statement about Wilson's health, and that he will not be able to race in the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.
"Wilson suffered a fracture of the 12th thoracic vertebrae and will stay overnight at the hospital for further tests and observation. Based on this type of injury, Wilson will not be allowed to compete in this Sunday’s 107th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. The Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports team will have more information in due course."
It was a devastating blow for Wilson, who missed the race in 2017 when he gave up his seat for two-time Formula One World Champion Fernando Alonso. Wilson believed that having Alonso in the race would give the event a better show. His character is nearly identical to his late brother Justin.
In terms of finding the driver to replace Wilson in the race, the obvious candidate was Rahal, who was bumped from the field in qualifying on Sunday. The only hiccup with that was the fact that Rahal is with Honda and the DRR car is a Chevrolet. Honda cited the history of the Rahal name and for the bettermint of the show as reasons why they are allowing him to drive a Chevrolet in the race. It was a surprising outcome, but one that Graham is very thankful for.
"Last night I said ‘I can’t believe this actually happened’ – that Honda and Chevy both allowed this to happen. I knew the challenges were far greater than me, I knew I had to step aside because, contractually, I don’t know what’s between RLL and Honda and all our partners. I know Dennis (Reinbold) is a high-class individual, and I know he and dad worked things out right away. I’m surprised, but it was certainly exciting for me when I found out late last night that we could make this happen."
The practice session on Monday resumed after repairs were made to the SAFER Barrier, and additional time was added for the drivers. Will Power had the fastest lap of the day at 229.222 mph with Scott Dixon as the only other driver to reach the 229 mph barrier. The 33 drivers combined to turn 2,005 laps with Christian Lundgaard putting in the most (90) during the session. The next time the cars hit the track will be on Carb Day (Friday), where there will be one final hour of practice before Sunday's 107th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
