Verizon IndyCar Series driver James Hinchcliffe underwent surgery at IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis for an injury to his upper left thigh suffered in a crash during a practice session on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.
After surgery, he was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit and remains in stable condition, according to INDYCAR medical director Dr. Michael Olinger. Updates on his condition will be provided when available.
“Obviously, we’re relieved that James is awake and out of surgery,” Schmidt Peterson Motorsports team co-owner Sam Schmidt said. “That’s the most important thing on our minds right now and we will do absolutely everything required to ensure a complete recovery.”
The No. 5 Arrow/Lucas Oil Schmidt Peterson Honda that Hinchcliffe was driving made hard right-side contact with the Turn 3 SAFER Barrier and slid on its right side all the way into Turn 4 about 50 minutes into the scheduled 12:30-4 p.m. (ET) practice. Hinchcliffe, who was awake when the Holmatro Safety Team arrived on the scene, was transported by ground to the nearby hospital.
A Honda spokesman said the right-front suspension failed as Hinchcliffe's car was entering the turn and he lost steering.
He had just turned a lap of 223.916 mph and was completing his 23rd lap in the session. After more than an hour of track clean-up and investigation into the cause of the incident, INDYCAR called the session checkered. Cars returned for a 4:15-6 p.m. practice -- the penultimate track time in preparation for the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. On May 17, Hinchcliffe qualified on the outside of Row 8 with a four-lap average speed of 223.519 mph.
"Every time we hop in that race car, we don’t know if we’re going to come out of it, if you’re going to come out of it in one piece, if something’s going to happen to you," said Tony Kanaan, who will make his 300th Indy car start May 24. "That’s what makes us different than other people. That’s why not everybody can do this. It’s never easy to see a friend of yours get hurt or lost a friend of yours. But this is the sport that we chose.
"Accident happen. We hate them, but it's part of our job."
Hinchcliffe, 28, of suburban Toronto, is in his first season with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. He won the inaugural Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana on April 12 and has one other top-10 finish (seventh in the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park on April 26) in five races. In 73 starts covering five Verizon IndyCar Series seasons, Hinchcliffe has four victories and 19 top-five finishes.
In four Indianapolis 500 starts, he has a best finish of sixth in 2012. He qualified second in 2014 while with Andretti Autosport.
The incident is the fifth this month in preparation for the 99th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. Last week in practice, Helio Castroneves, Pippa Mann and Josef Newgarden were involved in crashes. On May 17, Ed Carpenter's car made contact with the Turn 2 SAFER Barrier. The incident, along with the others, prompted INDYCAR to reduce the engine boost level and require entries to run their race aerodynamic configuration in qualifications.
The drivers in those incidents were uninjured.
Scott Dixon earned the Verizon P1 Award for the pole position with a four-lap average speed of 226.760 mph in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.