Monday, May 28, 2001
Pole-sitter crashes on first lap
Cold blamed for three wrecks in first 17 laps
By Tom Groeschen
The Cincinnati Enquirer
INDIANAPOLIS - Cold weather and cold tires made it look like Amateur Hour Sunday, with three crashes in the first 17 laps.
It was 56 degrees at the start, making it one of the coldest days in Indy history. Many recalled the 1992 race, when similar conditions saw polesitter Roberto Guerrero spin and crash on the parade lap.
Sunday, polesitter Scott Sharp was eliminated after crashing on the first lap. Sharp was just exiting Turn One when he appeared to lose traction, and his car hit the outside wall between Turns One and Two.
Six laps later, Sarah Fisher did a half-spin exiting Turn Two and hit the outside wall. Her sliding car collected Scott Goodyear, who also crashed into the wall.
Goodyear was admitted to Methodist Hospital with a fracture in his lower back, but otherwise was listed in good condition.
On the restart after the Fisher-Goodyear accident, Sam Hornish Jr. spun in the front straightaway. Al Unser Jr., trying to avoid Hornish, crashed into the outside wall.
Fisher: “It was really, really slick out there. It's kind of cold. Everyone is having the same problem. ... There's absolutely no grip.”
Many said the cold weather was bad for the tires, but two-time Indy winner Unser disagreed.
“It's not a fact of a cold day. It's a fact that we needed to run some more laps. We didn't get our momentum going yet,” Unser said.
Car owner Roger Penske, whose drivers Helio Castroneves and Gil de Ferran finished 1-2, said the cold was a factor. All three of the early accidents appeared to involve drivers spinning on the white lines on the inner edge of the track.
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Pole-sitter crashes on first lap
