INDIANAPOLIS — The ethanol in the air smelled of indecision.
And with good reason. In five days, three Chevrolets — in decidedly different crashes — went airborne in dramatic and terrifying one-car wrecks, culminating Sunday when Ed Carpenter lost control of his No. 20 in Turn 2 during a morning warmup at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Carpenter tumbled briefly upside down, shedding debris down the track, and four hours later it was time to act.
Defending race-winner Ryan Hunter-Reay called the wrecks “three big warning shots.”
IndyCar officials, after multiple consultations with team owners and manufacturers Chevrolet and Honda, finally arrived at a solution that shouldn’t have taken so long.