Scott McLaughlin suffered a terrifying crash during second practice at Barber Motorsports Park, impacting it around 60-70mph. The rest of the session was called off.
Going down the front straightaway in the approach of Turn 1, the New Zealander clipped the grass. The backend of his #3 Team Penske Chevrolet snapped around and skated backwards through run off, gravel trap, and then grass with a bump in the 2.3-mile, 17-turn natural terrain road course elevating his car. The force saw his car clip the top of the tire barrier before punching through the fence, with half of it coming to rest in the bushes behind the wall.
The AMR Safety crew was on the scene moments later, with McLaughlin fortunately able to walk away unharmed. A replay showed him immediately grab the sides of his helmet moments before backing into the fence.
The incident brought out a red flag and checkered flag of the session due to the heavy repairs.
At the time of publishing, the AMR Safety Crew was still trying to extract the car, which appeared in relatively good shape despite the visual carnage of the wall.
The team has rolled out a backup car, and after being released from the infield care center, McLaughlin said: “Look, I knew I was done (once) I dropped the right rear and spun. Sort of just tried to brace myself a little bit, but yeah, I think the crash looked a lot worse than it felt. I’m gutted for my Odyssey Battery, guys, but I had a look at the car. Honestly, I feel like we can get this thing fixed and I can go ship it again, so I just want to go out and go for pole.”
On how he resets after a wild incident like that, McLaughlin added: “Just get in the car and get going. I can’t wait. The car feels good, a little bit loose this morning, but cold temps were making it a little bit different. But, yeah, I feel good and love this place and just want to get back out there and have a chance.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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