Strong opinions are flying around IndyCar circles regarding pack racing after Ryan Briscoe’s absolutely huge wreck at Fontana. On the closing laps of the race, Juan Pablo Montoya ran up on Ryan Hunter-Reay. Montoya clipped Hunter-Reay’s car, causing his car to dart left, taking Briscoe with him in a spin. Briscoe’s car got airborne before coming down nose first into the grass, digging in and flipping in a wild ride that ended with the car right-side up and Briscoe unhurt and in better spirits than most. Shortly after the crash, in an interview, he quipped: ”First thing I did was to call my wife and tell her I’m ok. She’s more distraught than any of us. No one made that happen intentionally. The racing was so close all day. Unfortunately, something bad did happen, but we’re all okay, which is a testament to the safety of the cars.”
Montoya was vocal after the crash. “I felt it was a little too stupid, we shouldn’t be racing like this and sooner or later somebody is going to get hurt. Honestly, I was not a fan of the racing we put on today. What I told IndyCar yesterday was that we shouldn’t be racing like this. This is full pack racing and sooner or later somebody is going to get hurt. We don’t need to be doing this.” Meanwhile, James Hincliffe, an IndyCar racer who nearly lost his life last month during testing for the Indy 500, who tweeted “Man, I wish I was out there!” and praised the race.
