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Penske Entertainment, owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the IndyCar Series, is giving away a new car to the owner of a Chevrolet that was damaged by a blown tire during the Indianapolis 500.
A spokesman told The Indianapolis Star on Wednesday that Penske Entertainment will give Robin Matthews of Indianapolis a new car.
The damage occurred when driver Kirk Kirkwood’s car was thrown into the back of another driver who hit the wall between turns 1 and 2. Kirkwood’s car overturned and his tire blew out above the fence that protects the spectators. Fortunately, the flying tire missed the crowd and landed in the parking lot, where it crushed the Chevrolet owned by Matthews.
IndyCar owner Roger Penske (the father of Penske Media CEO Jay Penske) said there will be an investigation into why the tire came off. The tires are supposed to be kept attached to the Indy cars by laces, which were instituted after several fans died during races in the 1990s.
Matthews’ car was towed due to tire damage. Officials gave Matthews a chance to kiss the bricks, a time-honored Indy 500 tradition, and then IMS President J. Douglas Boles drove her home.
“I didn’t see it go down,” Matthews told the Indianapolis Star. “I got out and they said, ‘Robin, it’s your car!’ I thought, ‘No.’ I thought someone was playing a joke on me. It’s a car. It’s okay.”
The report did not indicate what type of car Matthews would get as a replacement.
