Saturday morning at Barber Motorsports Park held a second practice session for the NTT IndyCar Series.
Weather was much cooler than the day before, and the wind had shifted to come from the north.
The biggest moment of the session was when Scott McLaughlin, the fastest driver in first practice, spun into the fast entry to Turn 1 while simulating a qualifying run.
The two-time event winner seemed to misjudge his entry line, with the right side tires well into the grass just as he was braking and turning at 150 MPH.
The #3 Team Penske Chevy spun at high speed and slid backwards across the gravel then crashed into the tire barriers and chain link fencing.
McLaughlin hit at such speed that his car practically burst through the relatively soft barriers, with only the metal of the fencing holding his car from sliding through the scenic bushes and down the hillside.
His car’s bodywork was ripped up badly, but a much of the chassis and structure looked remarkably intact.
“I knew I was done,” said McLaughlin on Fox Sports after quickly being released from the care center.
“Just dropped the right rear, spun and just tried to brace myself a little bit. I think the crash looked a lot worse than it felt. I’m gutted for my Odyssey Battery guys.
“But I had a look at the car, and honestly I think we can get this thing fixed and I can go ship it again. I just want to get out there and go for pole.”
McLaughlin’s crew wasted no time setting up a backup chassis however, not willing to chance unseen damage with a short turnaround.
Setting quick times
The safety crew quickly removed McLaughlin’s car and worked on repairing the barriers, but the remaining portion of practice was ultimately canceled.
With the session being declared complete after just 34 minutes, drivers did not have as much time as planned to dial in their setups. And no drivers completed runs on the softer alternate compound.
Alex Palou was fastest on the timesheets, completing a lap in 1:06.4680 and averaging 124.571 MPH.
Palou is also a two-time winner at Barber, same as McLaughlin, and is looking like he may have the pace to make it three.
Kyle Kirkwood was second quick, just 0.053 seconds off the pace and also continuing his fast pace from Friday.
Rinus VeeKay and Romain Grosjean surprised by setting the third and fourth best times respectively, though their final positions could be due to the shortened session more than actual pace.
Rounding out the top five in his #66 Meyer Shank Racing Honda was Marcus Armstrong.
Nolan Siegel was the only other driver to have issues in the session, spinning over the bridge in the final corners and stopping on track.
He was able to get going again after serving a short penalty for causing a stoppage.
Qualifying is next on the docket, with first round scheduled for 1:30 PM central time.
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