Four-time IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti suffered two broken vertebrae, a fractured right ankle and a concussion in a scary crash in which his car went airborne into the catchfence during Sunday’s Houston Grand Prix.
Debris from his car vaulted into the stands, injuring 13 fans and an IndyCar Series official, according to the Associated Press. Two people are being treated at a local hospital.
USA TODAY Sports’ Curt Cavin reported Franchitti’s injuries after Franchitti was driven to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center.
Franchitti had surgery Sunday to repair his right ankle, Target Ganassi Racing spokesperson Kelby Krauss told USA TODAY Sports.
The accident comes just 10 days shy of the two-year anniversary of the death of Dan Wheldon, who died when his head struck a post at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after sailing 325 feet through the air in a fiery 15-car wreck that caused the race’s cancellation.
Franchitti’s car became airborne as he tried to pass Takuma Sato on a fast portion of the course in Turn 5. The car went airborne and tore into fencing, which held. His No. 10 Honda came to rest back on the temporary street circuit around Reliant Park with the front end missing but with the tub portion of the chassis intact. E.J. Viso was also caught up in the crash.
Viso and Sato climbed from their cars unharmed.
Franchitti could be seen moving shortly after the car came to rest. At one point, he lifted his helmet’s visor and appeared to be removing his gloves.
Team owner Chip Ganassi said on TV the four-time IndyCar champion was OK.
“He’s talking. His ankle is a little sore. His back is a little sore. He’s going to take a trip to the hospital, but he is OK,” Ganassi said.
Later, Ganassi told USA TODAY Sports’ Cavin he asked the 40-year-old Scotsman about his condition before being loaded into an ambulance.
Ganassi said Franchitti responded: “I don’t know.”
Actress Ashley Judd, who married Franchitti in 2001 though the pair separated earlier this year, thanked fans on Twitter for their prayers and tweeted that she and their dogs “are on our way.”
Several IndyCar drivers also took to Twitter to send well-wishes to Franchitti and injured fans. Graham Rahal, who finished 18th, said the crash was “flat out scary.”
“To be totally honest, when I came up on it I had a flashback to Vegas, but on a smaller scale,” Rahal told USA TODAY Sports. “When I came through there, the amount of carbon fiber and debris was mind-boggling. I was just hoping everyone was OK at that point. There were parts and pieces everywhere.”
Franchitti’s Ganassi Racing teammate, Scott Dixon, was close friends with Wheldon.
He told USA TODAY Sports after the race the crash sites in Las Vegas and Houston were similar.
“It’s the smells and the visuals,” Dixon said. “There was nowhere near the amount of damage that we saw (in Las Vegas), but seeing the replay, I think, was the big shock.”
The three-time Indy 500 winner’s crash refocused attention on catchfence safety technology. It’s been among the hottest topics in motor racing since two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Wheldon died at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, causing the race’s cancellation.
(USA Sports)
