Although injuries were miraculously avoided when a wheel went flying off a racecar at the Indy 500 last weekend, one fan did receive a nasty surprise, after it landed directly on her white 2012 Chevrolet Cruze. Now her story will have a happy ending.
The car, which owner Robin Matthews affectionately referred to as “Snowball,” was struck by the wheel and suffered damage to the front end. The blow was severe enough that the car had to be towed away. Now, WTHR reports that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) will pay to replace Snowball.
Although details of the arrangement are not yet clear, Matthews told the outlet that she had fully paid off her Cruze, and now she just wants something that she can drive to work without having to make more car payments.
More: Wrecked Racecar’s Wheel Goes Flying Over Crowd, Smashes Into Parked Car At Indy 500
In addition, following the race, Matthews was invited down to the racetrack and was allowed to participate in the time-honored tradition of kissing the bricks at the historic racetrack. In addition, a ride home was arranged for her by IMS President, Doug Boles.
Meanwhile, the IndyCar racing series is looking into the circumstances that led to Matthews’ car being destroyed. The issue is a serious one for the sport, since the last time a spectator was killed at the Indy 500 was when fan Lyle Kurtenbach was struck by a racecar’s detached wheel.
Roger Penske, the owner of IMS and IndyCar, told the Indy Star that he has spoken to Dallara, the exclusive chassis provider for the sport, about the accident. Although the racecars are equipped with tethers that are meant to ensure that the wheels stay attached to the car even after an accident, something about this crash led to a failure, and it is being investigated.
“We have tethers on those (wheels), and I’ve never seen a wheel come off of those. That, to me, is probably the scariest thing, and we’ve got to fix that so it doesn’t happen again,” Penske said. “Our technical guys are going to have a look at it.”