Marcus Armstrong and Colton Herta were both involved in terrifying crashes during Saturday’s Indianapolis 500 qualifying, but have since been cleared to compete in the iconic race.
Herta’s crash was the more dramatic of the two. The Andretti Global driver flipped upside down after losing control and hitting the wall, sending his car airborne. It skidded along the track on its roof, with sparks flying from the halo that protects the driver’s head.
“It happened so fast, you know, you don’t realise it,” Herta said. “It just sucks because it makes the second impact so much bigger.”
Fortunately, Herta was cleared shortly after the incident. He went on to qualify 29th in his backup car, which he hadn’t driven prior to the run. “If they have a car ready for me, I’d go flat out right now,” he said beforehand. “The nervousness would come from not knowing what the car’s like.”
Despite the uncertainty, Herta trusted his team. “It’s really just a guess when you’re put in that position. You have to go flat out and hope everybody did their job.”
Armstrong, driving for Meyer Shank Racing, suffered his crash earlier in the day during practice. After nearly five hours of concussion protocol and medical checks, the 24-year-old New Zealander was cleared to return.
“I feel good,” Armstrong said. “I feel a bit hungry. I could do a coffee.” His car was destroyed in the crash, meaning he’ll attempt to qualify on Sunday using a converted road-course car.
“I expect to be flat in Turn 1 and 2 on my first lap. I’m confident we can make the field,” Armstrong added.
He will now battle for one of the final three spots on the grid alongside Marco Andretti, Jacob Abel, and Rinus VeeKay. Armstrong’s initial qualifying time wasn’t fast enough to make the top 30.
While wind conditions were tricky on Saturday, neither driver blamed the gusts for their incidents.
“I was expecting a lot more grip in Turn 1 than there was,” Armstrong admitted. “I hoped I wasn’t badly injured, because it felt pretty bad.”
Herta echoed that it was more about setup than wind. “As soon as I turned into Turn 1, it was just gone,” he said.
Despite everything, both drivers remain determined — and fearless — ahead of Sunday’s final day of qualifying.