Herta's Thrilling Flip in Indy 500 Qualifying

Colton Herta's thrilling flip has captured attention at the Indianapolis 500 qualifying session. The major wreck occurred coming out of Turn 1 during his first qualifying lap, with Herta losing control at a speed of 236 miles per hour and spinning into the wall.

The impact sent him airborne, and he slid upside down into Turn 2 before slamming into the wall hard. Miraculously, Herta was able to walk away from the crash and was quickly cleared and released from the infield care center.

When asked about the incident, Herta said, “I’m fine. Luckily nowadays, these crashes look a lot scarier than they feel — not saying that one felt good but... The team’s hard at work to get the back-up car ready. It’s going to probably be impossible to get out there today. We’ll have to see what we can do. Just terrible day for this to happen. There were no signs real signs leading to it. We were super happy with the car this morning, and then you go out and just lose. Couldn’t even get Lap 1 done. It sucks, but I’m good.”

This is not Herta's first experience going airborne before the Indy 500; he previously flipped during final practice in 2022.

Herta's crash marks the second major contact of the day, following Marcus Armstrong's hard hit into the wall during morning practice runs. Armstrong was taken to the infield care center on a stretcher but was awake and alert after the incident.