Charlie Kimball Crashes Hard In Pocono Qualifying

“This is the hairiest track these cars race on”, Franchitti declared Saturday between on-track sessions at the 2.5-mile tri-oval.

“And they’re like ‘yeah, but no one else here gets to drive a race vehicle at 230 miles per hour, ‘” Karam said. “You’re holding your breath every lap at this place”.

Charlie Kimball has been cleared from the medical centre at Pocono Raceway following a terrifying crash during qualifying for the ABC Supply 500 on Saturday afternoon, escaping with just a small cut to his chin. After the vehicle struck the wall, it lifted up and tore into the fencing before the auto landed along the top of the SAFER barrier, where it skidded until it dropped back onto the asphalt and came to a rest in the exit of Turn 3. “We didn’t want to give the guys any more work”. Scott Dixon (Ganassi) was only 16th, Josef Newgarden (CFH Racing-Chevy) 18th, and Sebastien Bourdais (KV Racing-Chevy) 21st. “Judging by the way the mechanics were acting, I don’t think it’s too bad”. But engineers must also factor enough downforce into the setup to help cornering speeds.

IndyCar made its return to the Tricky Triangle in July 2013 after a 24-year hiatus and the 28-year-old driver started off the weekend with a bang by shattering the old track qualifying record to sit on the pole for the inaugural Pocono IndyCar 400. “I think he’s a tremendous talent, for sure”.

His vehicle, however, was less fortunate. He’ll realize he’s going to need some friends at some point. “Hopefully we can keep it going and I can help my parents one day”, Karam said. “It’s going to be very special to go back there as the defending victor and to the place where we were able to validate Roger [Penske]’s belief that I could come back over to the Verizon IndyCar Series and win after being away for so long”. Karam, who posed shirtless with Max for a photo he posted on Twitter, was mocked relentlessly by his peers and deleted the tweet. Penske teammates Castroneves and Will Power (-58 and -59) are the only other drivers with realistic championship aspirations. And several drivers are searching for a win or at least a solid finish to end the 2015 campaign on a positive note. “If he was sitting right here, I’d say he doesn’t care about making friends, either”.

A last name synonymous with open-wheel racing in Pennsylvania for the past 50 years.

A bigger question is whether Pocono will remain on the IndyCar Series schedule in 2016 and beyond. And this year, there are two local racers competing.

“I got to meet the judges, I got to meet JLo of course, which she’s a very attractive woman”, Karam said with a giggle.

“We won a race this year (at Iowa); I didn’t think we’d get one”, Hunter-Reay said.