Simon Pagenaud Rolls IndyCar Seven Times, Walks Away

A routine slide off track turned disastrous for Simon Pagenaud in today's IndyCar practice at Mid-Ohio. Pagenaud's car dug into a runoff area's gravel trap, leading to seven consecutive rollovers as it slowed on the way to the outside wall.

Video from the practice session shows that Pagenaud started to spin into a cambered corner, turning the banking of the turn built up against the runoff area into a makeshift ramp. Pagenaud's car skids sideways over it at speed, flying into the air before coming back down on one side into a gravel trap. The car dissipates speed and flings debris in all directions as it rolls six times before hitting the wall on the seventh.

Pagenaud was conscious and was able to walk away from the crash, although the precarious positioning of the car on the outside barrier meant that he needed help from safety officials to be extracted. The series of impacts are concerning, and the speed of the first few hits is worrying, but the car had slowed significantly by the time Pagenaud finally hit a wall. That at least reduces the total impact of the crash, although the profile of the corner and runoff area that led his car to be launched should become an immediate point of concern for track and series officials.

Qualifying for the race at Mid-Ohio is set for later this afternoon. Pagenaud, the winner of both this race and the IndyCar championship back in 2016, has a best finish of 13th this season and has scored just one podium since joining Meyer Shank Racing in 2022.

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