FORT WORTH, Texas — A big crash in the back of the field took six IndyCar drivers out of Sunday’s race at Texas even before they were able to take the green flag.
Pietro Fittipaldi hit Sebastien Bourdais from behind, knocking the four-time open-wheel champion into Alexander Rossi. The cars of Ed Jones, Dalton Kellett and Conor Daly also were destroyed in the crash that happened after the green flag had dropped, but before any of them had crossed the start-finish line for first time.
Daly, who was starting at the back of the 24-car field, got knocked upside down after he got caught between two other cars. He slid upside down along the front stretch before the car planted into the rain-saturated infield grass and flipped back onto its wheels.
“I’m good, I’m all right,” Daly said afterward.
Fittipaldi said the field suddenly slowed down ahead of him and, “I had nowhere to go.” He said he had a sprained finger.
It took quite a while to clean up all of the debris, with the race not going green again until the 20th lap.