Indy 500 Pit Lane Chaos Erupts With Car Bursting Into Flames, Spins And More

Things got chaotic in the pits just before the halfway point of the Indy 500.

Alexander Rossi won the Indianapolis 500 back in 2016, the last time there was a sellout before this year, and early on it looked like he might have a car capable of competing for a win, until a scary moment in the pit lane ended his day.

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Rossi is in his first season with Ed Carpenter Racing, and in the early going it was looking like a pretty solid day for the team. After the first round of pit stops, all three of the teams cars — driven by Rossi, Christian Rasmussen, and team owner Ed Carpenter — ran 1-2-3 with Rossi and Rasmussen trading the lead back and forth.

Even after pitting and dropping back in the pack, Rossi's No. 20 Chevrolet seemed to have some serious pace.

However, the car began smoking and leaking fluid, causing Rossi to dive into the pits, and that's where things went south.

That's terrifying. The fueler was reportedly taken to the infield care center, but otherwise, it seemed like everyone was okay.

That was just the start of the chaos.

Just a couple laps later, Dale Coyne Racing's Rinus Veekay attempted to enter the pits, but spun down the pit lane.

Fortunately, everyone was out of the way of that one, but the crew of Prema Racing's No. 83 Chevrolet driven by polesitter Robert Shwartzman wasn't so lucky.

When the pits opened after Veekay's spin, Shwartzman had trouble getting into his stall and hit several of his teammates when his front wheels locked up. 

According to Fox Sports' Jamie Little, one crew member reported that the team's fueler was dealing with a sore foot after the incident (rough day to be a fueler).

Fortunately, things weren't worse, but it has been a chaotic day at Indy, especially in the pits.