Kimball goes airborne in Pocono qualifying

Chip Ganassi Racing's Charlie Kimball went into qualifying as one of the favorites for pole position. He was quickest in Saturday morning practice and posted the fastest warmup lap of the session at that point, just moments before it all went wrong.

Happy to get away with a couple bumps and bruises, especially going this fast around here

Charlie Kimball

Entering Turn 3, he lost control and spun hard into the outside wall. The car then lifted off the ground and the rear made contact with the fence, spinning around and riding the top of the wall before coming to a rest at the exit of the corner.

Just a scratch

Kimball escaped the scary wreck with no major injuries, but did say he required a couple stitches on his chin for a small cut and suffered bruises on his hand and finger. "When you're this ugly to start with, it's hard to do much damage," Kimball joked.

"We had a pretty good warmup lap," he explained. "The car was giving me lot of confidence into one. The balance wasn't exactly what I wanted and I think I got a little caught-out by the wind.

"I had a small crack of the throttle in one and I think that made me a little more aggressive on the tools heading into three and that maybe caught me out a little bit. I don't know if it was track conditions or car setup, but we'll look at it and be better because of it.

He also praised the safety of the sport, saying "It's one of the great things about what we do in IndyCar - We're leading in safety. The cars are really safe, the SAFER Barrier did its job.

"Happy to get away with a couple bumps and bruises, especially going this fast around here."

The session was halted for 48 minutes while repairs were made to the fencing at the scene of the crash. Helio Castroneves went on to claim pole position.

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