Robert Shwartzman began his first Indianapolis 500 on the highest of highs, leading the field to green after a shock pole run with fellow debutants Prema Racing.
He ended the day on the lowest of lows.
Shwartzman was running 13th on lap 87 of Sunday’s race when the he collided with four of his crewmen and slammed hard into the pit wall.
The accident caused significant damage to his No. 83 Chevrolet, bringing the Israeli driver’s day to an early end in 29th. FOX Sports reported that his fueler, Spence Hall, suffered a right foot injury and walked over to a nearby stretcher before being transported to the infield care center.
A disappointed Shwartzman felt there was nothing he could do to avoid the accident after climbing out of his car.
“When it was yellow, I came in and (they) honestly felt really strange, my brakes, already when I was going slow, coming (into) the pit lane,” Shwartzman told FOX Sports. “I locked (up) both front tires, which usually is not the case. I wasn’t sure if it was the brakes or because the tires were cold.
“When I came back to my pit, I did not push. I tried to be very slow. But as soon as I touched my brakes, both front (tires) just locked and I just went straight into the guys.
“Luckily, nobody got really injured. I think there was only one guy with a bit of an injury. I’m happy that everybody is fine. It was really scary, because at the moment I braked I was just a passenger. There was nothing. No brakes.”
Shwartzman led eight laps in his first Indy 500 appearance before suffering an early setback on pit road. He was on the march back into contention and up to 13th when the pit road accident ended his day.
Whether due to a mechanical issue or cold tires, Shwartzman was left with bittersweet emotions when reflecting on the end of his memorable Month of May.
“From my side, it’s really sad, because we did such great work in qualifying,” he said. “But as we know, this is the Indy 500. In (this) race, anything can happen. I saw already quite a lot of strong drivers out of the race or behind.
“This is what happens. This is Indy. We just need to learn from it, and hopefully next year we’ll come and have a battle for the win.”
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