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Dec 01, 2023

IndyCar driver Scott McLaughlin goes airborne at Road America in test

IndyCar driver Scott McLaughlin took a wild ride with a rough landing at Road America and shared the in-car video Thursday on social media.

During a Team Penske test Wednesday morning, McLaughlin ran wide in Turn 1, hopped the rumble curb at the exit of the fast 90-degree corner, went airborne and damaged his car.

"Speed bumps on racetracks are bad.. flew car 85ft and put a hole in the underwing, but we good. #thirsty3s," the New Zealander said in a tweet.

IndyCar teams are preparing for their race, the Sonsio Grand Prix, on June 18 at the 4-mile track outside Elkhart Lake in rural Sheboygan County. McLaughlin has finishes of 14th and seventh in his two races at Road America.

The track was resurfaced in the offseason but, according to a track spokesman, the dimensions of the track, the curbing itself and the paved runoff area beyond the curbing were not changed.

For a long time, there was only grass beyond the edge of the track where McLaughlin had his problem. Drivers would run wide, kick up dirt and rocks and progressively dig a hole with their left-side tires, or would spin off track if the grass was wet. More than a decade ago, sanctioning bodies required the addition of the asphalt runoff and curbing.

IndyCar is working with Road America to adjust some of the curbing at the track ahead of the race, a series spokesman said Thursday.

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