IndyCar Series rookie driver Mikhail Aleshin sustained injuries when he was involved in a serious multi-car accident during Friday night's final practice session at Auto Club Speedway.
IndyCar officials said Aleshin was "conscious" and "complaining of injuries to his right shoulder and right foot." The 27-year-old Aleshin was airlifted to Loma Linda University Medical Center in Loma Linda, California. He is the first Russian driver to compete in IndyCar.
The incident occurred shortly after 7:30 p.m. local time when Aleshin lost control of his No. 7 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports car between turns 3 and 4 at this two-mile oval. His car spun up the track and into the oncoming No. 83 Chip Ganassi Racing vehicle, driven by Charlie Kimball, and then sailed into the catch fence in turn 4.
Aleshin's car tore a section of the fence before it landed back down on the track. Debris from his vehicle and the fence littered the track, as officials were forced to call off the remainder of practice. It took several minutes for safety workers to pull Aleshin out of his heavily-damaged car and place him on a stretcher. He was at first transported to the track's infield medical care center and then airlifted to the hospital.
Kimball was checked at the infield medical center and cleared to drive. Marco Andretti, Sebastien Bourdais, Sebastian Saavedra and rookie Jack Hawksworth were also involved in the wreck, but none of those drivers suffered any injuries.
The status of Aleshin for Saturday night's IndyCar season-finale, the MAVTV 500, is unknown at this time. Earlier in the day, he finished eighth in qualifying for this 500-mile race.
[SportsNetwork.com]
