Sting Ray Robb escaped unhurt following a brutal four-car crash on the final lap of Sunday’s IndyCar Series race at Iowa Speedway.
The second IndyCar race of the 2024 Iowa doubleheader ended with a massive crash as four trailing drivers racing to the finish line crashed and Sting Ray Robb along with Alexander Rossi took flight with the former requiring immediate medical attention.
The incident on the final lap happened when Rossi, who was in eighth place, slowed down forcing Robb, who was trailing behind, to hit his rear at high speed. Robb’s DW12 shot into the air, barrel-rolled after landing, and then continued skidding down the straight after hitting the ground again.
Meanwhile, Rossi got propelled across the track by the contact, and as a result, he eventually collided with Ed Carpenter and Kyle Kirkwood who spun, with the former’s car ending up on top of the latter’s.
Robb gave a thumbs-up sign as he was put in an ambulance to be taken to the infield care center. He was awake, alert, and in good condition, IndyCar Series officials said. He was flown to Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines for further evaluation.
AJ Foyt Racing said in a statement Robb was taken to the hospital as a further precaution and was taken by helicopter due to the post-race traffic and the distance to the hospital.
“Sting Ray is up, alert, and in good spirits,” the statement said.
Rossi, Carpenter and Kirkwood were attended to by the medical team and swiftly released as Robb was later discharged from hospital once the checks were complete.
After the race, Rossi admitted he had slowed on the track in the closing laps because of a fuel issue: “It was the last, kind of, four laps. We were out of fuel, I don’t know why. I don’t know why I got hit.”
Carpenter said: “Alex was off pace for a couple of laps. I saw that, my spotter told me, so I figured he had a fuel problem or some problem. Stinger had to see he was going slower, I think he misjudged the closing rate a little bit.”
Kirkwood said he got “claustrophobic” with Carpenter’s car on top of him: “I obviously wanted to get out of the car as quickly as possible. When you have no control of your ability to get out of the car, you become claustrophobic extremely quick.
“It’s easy to find yourself in a panic when it’s this hot out and you’ve just done an entire race, and we were having problems with the cool suit. It’s safe to say I was extremely hot and ready to get out of the car.”
