A rain-delayed Indianapolis 500 saw a three-car wreck in Turn 1 to start off ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing’.
It all started when rookie Tom Blomqvist of Great Britain in the No. 66 Meyer Shank machine lost control of his car on the grass apron on the inside of the first turn and spun out.
He spun directly into 2022 Indy 500 winner and former Formula 1 driver Marcus Ericsson in the No. 28 Andretti- who had no time to avoid the wreck and was immediately out of the race.
As this crash occurred, No. 6 Arrow McLaren driver Callum Ilott went up the inside of the track at the same moment that No. 30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver Pietro Fittipaldi tried ducking down to avoid the wreck.
Fittipaldi made contact with Ilott and spun out – the third and final victim of the first incident of the race.
On-board camera from Marcus Ericsson after crashing at the first turn of the Indianapolis 500
Overall view during a rain delay to the Indycar Series 108th running of the Indianapolis 500
Fans were asked to take shelter, and while most took cover, a small group of attendees were seen racing each other on foot along the concourse in Indianapolis.
Track president J. Douglas Boles said it would take track drying equipment about two hours to dry the 2.5-mile oval, but the expectation is that the race would begin roughly four hours late and all 200 laps would be completed before dark.
‘Our plan all along has been to get the Indianapolis 500 in today and I believe we are on track to do that,’ Boles said.
Heavy storms had been expected all week, and they arrived about 12:45 p.m., just when the green flag was supposed to drop.
Along with heavy rain, the band brought wind gusts up to 45 mph and dangerous lightning, and video boards inside the race track advised fans who had already made their way into the speedway to seek shelter.
The race didn’t start until hours later – when the flag dropped at 4:44pm Eastern time.
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