Now Ed Carpenter Flips His Car On IMS Qualifying Day

The rain-delayed qualifications this weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway got off to a bad start when Ed Carpenter crashed while running a practice lap at more than 131 mph. Carpenter's car flipped in the air after crashing the wall in Turn 2. He's the third driver this past week to flip a car during practice. Helio Castroneves had a spectacular air-borne flip in Turn 1 on Wednesday followed by a second flip the following day by Carpenter's teammate, Josef Newgarden. Carpenter was checked out at the infield medical center and cleared to drive, but his team will have to scramble to get a back-up car prepared for qualifications today.

UPDATE: Qualifications just became a farce. The start time for the single day of qualification has been pushed back to 3:15 with the delayed practice schedule. Hulman & Co.'s Mark Miles announces there will be no championship points awarded today to ensure driver and fan safety. What a joke. How many years of practice have they had to figure out how to conduct qualifications for this damn race?

Worst pole day qualifying ever. Last-minute changes slowed speeds considerably. Thirty-three drivers cautiously ran four laps around the course and Scott Dixon wound up as the unglorified pole sitter. A total let down for fans.