Marcus Armstrong cleared to race after undergoing concussion protocols

Armstrong crashed hard in morning practice for the Indy 500, putting his hopes of competing in jeopardy

Marcus Armstrong suffered a major crash in Saturday morning practice, just ahead of qualifying for the Indianapolis 500. The car spun, slamming the Turn 1 wall with the left-rear and left-side of the No. 66 Meyer Shank Racing Honda in a heavy impact. Thankfully, the car did not go airborne as Kyffin Simpson did in Fast Friday practice, or like Colton Herta, who went fully upside down in qualifying on Saturday.

Armstrong was taken away on a stretcher, but was sitting up and moving around, even offering a thumbs up. The New Zealander was later seen and released from the infield care center, but he was not immediately cleared to race. Armstrong also did not give an interview and immediately entered concussion protocols, undergoing further evaluation.

“He is awake, he’s alert,” said Dr. Julia Vaizer, IndyCar’s chief medical officer. “These hits on this oval can be really hard and we just want to make sure we don’t rush things, and we take our time, and make the right decisions for the driver.

While they awaited word on their driver, the Meyer Shank team scrambled to get Armstrong’s road course car modified and ready to compete on the big oval.

It took nearly five hours, but Armstrong was finally cleared to return to action by IndyCar's medical officials. The hope is to now get the backup car ready before the end of the day so he can at least run an installation lap.

"I'm doing well," Armstrong told IndyCar on FOX. "Obviously, it was a rather large hit, but I'm feeling okay now ... Fingers crossed we can maybe get out for an install (lap) or even a full run if if we're lucky."

He went on to say that he is eager to get back on track, saying: "I'm ready to go into T1 (Turn 1) flat again. Maybe with a little more downforce this time, but I'm ready to go for it."

Armstrong was able to make a run before the end of the day, but it wasn't enough to escape the last-chance qualifier, where he will face off against Marco Andretti, Rinus VeeKay and Jacob Abel on Sunday.