Jimmie Johnson suffered a fracture in his hand during free practice for the IndyCar race at Long Beach – The Ganassi driver will start in the race
Doubts about seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson starting the IndyCar race at Long Beach have fizzled out: although the Ganassi driver fractured his hand in a crash during free practice on Friday, he will start the race on Sunday. In qualifying, he finished 25th out of 26 starters.
What happened? On Friday, Johnson crashed into the tyre barrier at high speed in turn 6 during practice. In doing so, he did not take his hand away from the steering wheel quickly enough, resulting in a fracture. Although he suffered a fracture, he was given the green light by IndyCar to take the race at the traditional street circuit in California.
“I have a fracture in my hand. We built a nice carbon splint to support the injured area,” Johnson said in a video message. “IndyCar has allowed me to participate in practice. I feel really good now and I’m ready to go for it.” In both practice and qualifying, the 46-year-old had no trouble controlling his car.
Johnson completed a total of six laps in qualifying, lapping the circuit in 1:09.028. Last year’s winner Colton Herta grabbed pole position and set a new track record with his lap time. Josef Newgarden was second, 0.446 seconds behind, while Romain Grosjean put the car into the track barrier. He was stripped of his times for causing the red flag in the Top 6 shootout.
The IndyCar race at the former Formula One circuit on the streets of Long Beach, last reconfigured in 2000, will take place at 9pm on Sunday, April 10. A total of 26 drivers are entered for the race. Scott McLaughlin leads the overall standings after winning the season opener in St. Petersburg and a second-place finish on the oval in Forth Worth, Texas.
