Josef Newgarden flips but OK after wild INDYCAR wreck

Bob Pockrass

FOX Motorsports Insider

MADISON, Ill. — Josef Newgarden was not seriously injured after his car went upside-down and skidded along the surface Sunday night at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Newgarden t-boned Louis Foster, whose car was spinning and sliding down the track after an accident. Pinched up next to the inside wall, Newgarden’s car launched in the air and then skidded on its car.

Both drivers were seen and released from the infield medical center.

Hard accidents are not rare for the 1.25-mile oval, commonly known as Gateway, located outside of St. Louis. Foster said he had been getting up in the marbles — pellets of tire rubber that accumulate on the track and can cause the car to lose traction — and just got in there one time too many.

“Just got a bit too high on to the dark stuff. I had a wiggle and then I just got into the marbles and was a complete passenger,” Foster said. “At that point [I hit the wall], I bent my toe link. I just couldn’t stop the car from spinning there. Obviously, a pretty scary impact for myself and Josef.

“I’m glad he’s OK.”

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.