Carb Day is typically the wildest day during the month of May, and that was certainly the case again today.
The rain-shortened 90-minute final practice session was once again dominated by Chip Ganassi cars, but also featured two major accidents in Turn 1. The first came about halfway through the session when rookie David Malukas crashed into the outside wall after making contact with Santino Ferrucci. The Dale Coyne Racing driver has been fast all month long, and now will have an even tougher uphill battle as the crew repairs the No. 18 Honda.
“I came out with just a small bruise,” Malukas said. “For some reason he turned back down. I just held my line to go straight, and obviously him hitting me there, my tire went flat. You can’t really do much with a flat tire going at that speed. Definitely was a little on the late side, but those late moves are going to be there for the race. I still feel very confident. The car was very quick. The car felt very good.”
“I’m glad he’s okay,” Ferrucci said. “That was a big hit. I knew he was coming. It was a really late pass coming down to the line. I just came out to turn in because we were past the turn-in point for me. I just checked up and thought I timed it really well, and clearly I didn’t. That’s my mistake. I’m sorry for those guys I know well from two years ago, so I’m really bummed they’ve got to build a race car. There’s not really much else I could have done there. Just a mistake on my part. Just misjudged.”
The biggest moment of the day came in the final half-hour when Colton Herta’s car stepped out on him in the middle of Turn 1 and slid into the SAFER barrier. After making contact with the wall, the nose of the car got into the air and the car flipped over before skidding to a stop. It was a frightening crash for the 26-year old, but he was okay. The Andretti Autosport driver will now have to start the race in a backup car that will see the track for the first time…
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