Kyle Kirkwood survived an absolutely horrific crash in the late stages of the 2023 Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.
With 14 laps to go, Felix Rosenqvist lost control of his car heading into Turn 2 and wound up facing the wrong way up near the front of the pack. Kirkwood almost avoided the incident entirely until he clipped tires with Rosenqvist and went spiraling out of control himself.
As a tire went flying over the stands — narrowly, and miraculously, avoiding the crowd —Kirkwood went airborne. landed upside down and went sliding down the track at 200 miles per hour.
The NBC broadcast confirmed all drivers escaped the incident without any injuries.
Kirkwood’s on-board camera survived the collision as well and produced some chilling footage of the crash.
Harrowing moment at the Indy 500 as a tire is flung from Felix Rosenqvist's car, narrowly missing fans, and Kyle Kirkwood is flipped in the collision. pic.twitter.com/38NLWvUFqX
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) May 28, 2023
The in-car cam is 😳 pic.twitter.com/WKy4JrGWD9
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) May 28, 2023
Kyle Kirkwood has been seen and released by medical ❤️ https://t.co/QA6ZhmiOlm
— Andretti Autosport (@FollowAndretti) May 28, 2023
— BUM CHILLUPS AKA SPENCER HALL (@edsbs) May 28, 2023
Kirkwood told the broadcast he could see the sparks flying everywhere, which was the scariest part. And yeah, it’s very easy to believe him. He then brushed off the crash and lamented that his day ended early because he was driving a good race.
Just another reminder that IndyCar drivers built incredibly different.
