Scott McLaughlin Goes Through Catch Fence, Will Power Suffers Brake Failure In Wild Day Of IndyCar Action
It was a wild day at Barber Motorsports Park
The second practice session of IndyCar's weekend at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama got cut short on Saturday morning after a downright terrifying pair of crashes for Team Penske's Scott McLaughlin and Andretti Global's Will Power.
The New Zealander came into the weekend sitting at P5 in the standings, 41 points behind championship leader Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global.
READ: DALE EARNHARDT JR. ADMITS BIGGEST REGRET INVOLVING INDYCAR AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
Things were going well for McLaughlin as he topped the timesheet in Friday's practice session, but his weekend took a dramatic turn.
As McLaughlin's No. 3 Chevrolet was entering Turn 1, he dipped a wheel into the dirt on the outside of the track.
As soon as he turned into the corner, the rear of the car stepped out on him, and around he went.
But it got scary when McLaughlin's car — which was headed straight for the tire barrier — skipped into the air at the last second and went into the catch fence.
Fortunately, McLaughlin was okay, but the crash ended the session so crews could repair the barrier.
Oddly, as horrific as that crash looked, going into the catch fence, it meant that McLaughlin experienced a somewhat softer impact.
Somewhat.
It also meant that the car was in better shape than you'd expect, and the folks at Team Penske were able to put that car back together in just a few hours, allowing McLaughlin to take part in qualifying.
Speaking of which, Will Power was in the first qualifying group, and that's when he had his scary moment.
The Aussie appeared to suffer what he later said was a rear brake failure in the heavy braking zone into Turn 5, and unfortunately, that gravel trap didn't quite get him slowed down much at all before he went nose-first into the barrier.
Fortunately, Power walked away from that one, but this crash and McLaughlin's wreck are reminders of two things: how difficult the circuit at Barber Motorsports Park is, and also how much safer race cars are these days.
That was the end of Power's qualifying, while McLaughlin failed to make it out of the first round.
Meanwhile, at the sharp end of the field, reigning champion Alex Palou will start on pole for the first time this season, alongside Team Penske's David Malukas in P2.