Penske Entertainment to Give Fans New Cars After Flying Tire Incident at Indianapolis 500

With less than 20 laps to go in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500, a fan’s car was damaged after a tire flew into the stands and crashed into the parking lot. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured and Penske Entertainment has offered to replace the damaged vehicle, According to the Indianapolis Star.

The crash occurred when Felix Rosenqvist’s car made contact with the wall at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, causing the car to spin and collide with Kyle Kirkwood’s No. 27 Dalla Pulling the Honda race car into a collision. In that collision, Kirkwood’s car ended up spinning upside down, with the left rear tire flying into the Turn 2 car park.

The race was red flagged but luckily both drivers were able to get off under their own power. The tires flew over fans’ heads, but only one spectator was treated for minor injuries from flying debris, which was not related to the tires, according to the Indianapolis Star.

Kirkwood’s tire hit the vehicle of a woman named Robin Matthews, who at first found the whole situation unbelievable.

“I didn’t see it coming down,” Matthews told the Indianapolis Star. “I came down and they said ‘Robin, this is your car!’ I thought, ‘No. I thought someone was playing a prank on me.’

“It’s a car, no problem.”

Matthews’ white Chevrolet had to be towed away, but she was given a ride home by J. Douglas Boles, president of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. An IMS spokesperson told the Indianapolis Star that Penske Entertainment will give her a new car soon.

According to NBC SportsRoger Penske spoke with Dallara executives on Monday to see if there is anything that could have been done differently to prevent a similar incident from happening again.