Dreyer and Reinbold Racing’s Mike Conway sustained orthopedic injuries to his left leg in the last-lap crash he had with Ryan Hunter-Reay in today’s Indianapolis 500. According to the Indy Racing League, he was airlifted to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis and was awake and alert.
Conway’s machine ran over the left-front wheel of Hunter-Reay’s car, sending him into a mid-air flip and then into the catch fence of the Turn 3-4 short chute. The impact scattered massive amounts of debris on the track and some even got into the stands — two spectators were treated for minor cuts and lacerations at the track’s Clarian Emergency Medical Center.
As for Hunter-Reay, he said he couldn’t believe that Conway’s car didn’t hit his head.
“That’s one of the down sides of these cars having the driver’s heads exposed,” the American said in post-race. “That car should have come down on my head; I don’t know how it didn’t. When I looked at the replay, I guess it came down on the camera, right on top, and at 230 miles per hour, that’s as close as it gets.”
