INDIANAPOLIS — Katherine Legge and Ryan Hunter-Reay were eliminated in an early accident in Sunday’s 110th Indianapolis 500.
On the race’s 18th lap, Hunter-Reay lost control of the No. 31 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet as he exited the second turn, spinning in the middle of the track. As the 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner’s car moved toward drivers’ right, Legge spun the No. 11 HMD Motorsports/AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet when trying to avoid the spinning Hunter-Reay.
Hunter-Reay’s car then hit the outside retaining wall while Legge’s car spun and hit the inside retaining wall. Both drivers exited their cars.
Legge, who did not appear to suffer any major injuries in the crash, is still expected to attempt the Double, racing in both the Indy 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, although she’ll now be making the trip south sooner than she had hoped.
“I need to have an attitude adjust because right now I’m pissed and disappointed,” Legge said. “I need to get on that plane and try and into into the right mindset.”
Legge was blinded by smoke as she tried to steer her No. 11 e.l.f. Cosmetics Chevy around Hunter-Reay’s spinning car, but there simply wasn’t enough time to avoid contact.
“I went for the high side as he was moving down the track, and then he came back up the track, and so last minute I had to go left,” Legge said. “Just wasn’t enough time for the car to not spin out of control. It is what it is.”
“I was hoping that we were just back there kind of saving fuel and chilling out,” Legge said. “We were just riding, you know, trying to get through the majority of the laps, and be really sensible, because I wanted to make the 1,100 miles.”
Hunter-Reay said he had been battling the No. 31 Chevrolet from the start.
“I was super loose from the start,” Hunter-Reay said.
“When you’re wearing on that right rear, it keeps the temperature, and the pressure keeps going up,” he said. “It got to a point where I just couldn’t catch it, and it just got turned around.”
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Katherine Legge out of Indy 500 due to crash: ‘I wanted to make the 1,100 miles’
Reporting by Christopher DeHarde, Jessica Garcete, Scott Horner, Zion Brown, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
