Sunday's 99th running of the Indianapolis 500 began with a wreck involving Sage Karam, Takuma Sato and Ryan Briscoe on the opening lap, putting Karam out of the race.
Karam, who started 21st in his No. 8 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, made contact with Sato when Sato was attempting to pass him for position in the first turn at the famed 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Karam crashed into wall and sustained heavy damage to his car. Sato also had damage to his No. 14 A.J. Foyt Racing Honda but drove back to the pits for brief repairs. He had started 24th.
"I knew going into turn 1 that (Sato) had a run, but I didn't think he was dumb enough to go on the outside," Karam said. "(Ryan) Hunter-Reay and I were side-by-side, which is pretty much protocol going into turn 1 here. We were racing each other hard and clean. Sato thought he was better than us and decided to make it three wide. The guy needs to wake up a little bit."
Briscoe, substituting for the injured James Hinchcliffe in the No. 5 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda, was also involved in the incident. He was able remain on the lead lap.
During the pace laps, Conor Daly experienced a mechanical problem with his No. 43 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda, as a fire erupted from the back of his car. Daly pulled off the track, and safety workers quickly extinguished the flames. He will finish 33rd, while Karam will place 32nd. Sato fell three laps behind.
The first 12 laps of this race ran under caution. Just before it was set to resume on lap 8, Juan Pablo Montoya sustained fender damage on the left rear of his No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet when he and Simona de Silvestro made contact. Montoya and de Silvestro had to pit for repairs but remained on the lead lap.
Shortly after, Montoya overshot his pit stall and ran over the air hose during a scheduled stop.
Scott Dixon from Chip Ganassi Racing started on the pole for this race.
Jeff Gordon, who is retiring from NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition at the end of this season, drove the pace car to lead the 33-car field to the green flag. Gordon, a four-time champion in NASCAR's premier series, grew up in Pittsboro, Indiana, located about 20 miles west of the speedway. He won the Brickyard 400 (Sprint Cup race) a record five times here, including a victory last year.
Gordon left the track a short time after the start of the Indy 500 to travel back to Charlotte Motor Speedway, where he will compete in Sunday night's 600- mile race, starting 18th.
"It's very, very cool and such an honor to be here," Gordon told ABC during the television network's coverage of Indy 500 pre-race activities. "This is such a special day. I can remember as a kid coming here, and now I'm really going back to the moment of feeling what it's like on the day of the Indy 500. It's very special. I'm just so thrilled that Chevrolet and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway have asked me to be here as the pace car driver and be a part of this amazing event."
Gordon said during a press conference at IMS earlier in the day that he has no plans of competing in any future Indy 500s. The 100th running of this prestigious race is scheduled for May 29, 2016.
[SportsNetwork.com]
