Will Power and Nelson Philippe each have sustained a concussion that will sideline
them for today's qualifying. The two had a coming together in the morning
practice for this weekend's Sonoma Infineon Raceway's IndyCar Series race.
Prior to the incident at Turn 3A, Power had clocked a best lap on his fourth
tour of the circuit with a 1:18.554 (105.542 mph) in his No. 12 Penske
Racing Dallara/Honda. He had completed a total of 16 tours when the incident happened.
Philippe has a best lap time just prior to the incident on his 10th tour.
The Conquest Racing rookie turned a 1:20.261 (103.299 mph).
Also involved in the incident was E.J. Viso in his HVM Racing Dallara/Honda, though
he was not injured. Philippe apparently lost control into a spin before
Viso tagged him before Power who was coming around the corner had nowhere to
go before slamming into the Dallara of Philippe that was sitting on track
just past the blind crest near Turn 4.
Both Power and Philippe were taken to Med Central for evaluation before
being transported to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. Power complaints
included back pain so he was airlifted. Philippe has an injured left foot
and was transported in an ambulance.
It is doubtful that the two injured drivers will be cleared to race by
tomorrow. Both sustained injuries but both were awake and alert.
Dario Franchitti was fastest at the end of practice after the delay (red
flag) followed by Helio Castroneves and rookie Mike Conway. This was the
only practice for the teams prior to qualifying.
Medical update:
Power was diagnose, per the Indy Racing League, with fractures to the L2 and
L4 (lumbar) vertebrae. He was scheduled for magnetic resonance imaging.
Philippe per his team sustained an "open fracture of the left foot and
underwent surgery".
