Kyffin Simpson Goes For Wild Tumble During Indy 500 Fast Friday

Originally posted on Racing America on SI
By Toby Christie | Last updated May 16, 2025 2:38 PM ET

Penske Entertainment: Joe Skibinski

During Indianapolis 500 practice on Fast Friday, Kyffin Simpson suffered a major crash on the exit of Turn 4 at the legendary 2.5-mile speedway.

Simpson's car got loose on the exit of Turn 4, which sent him spinning into the outside SAFER Barrier. As Simpson connected with the outside wall, his No. 8 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda got airborne.

Sheesh, a hair-raising incident for Kyffin Simpson at Indy: pic.twitter.com/E9BSueVnHK
— Toby Christie (@Toby_Christie) May 16, 2025

"Yeah, it was a bit weird. I kind of hit the wall, and I was in the air pretty soon after that," Simpson recalled in an interview after the wild crash. "But I didn't realize I was in the air until I took a look out the airscreen, and I was like, 'Oh, that's the ground, that's not good.'"

Fortunately, for Simpson, the car came back down to Earth quickly, and the driver is just thankful he landed back on his wheels.

"Just glad I didn't end up on my roof," Simpson explained. "And after that, I was just hoping that I wouldn't hit the attenuator."

The crash will significantly impact Simpson's chase of a victory in the 109th Indianapolis 500.

""It's a tough one. All you can really do is hop back on the horse, right? Hopefully, we can get back out today. If not, we'll just focus on tomorrow," said the Chip Ganassi Racing driver.

The 20-year-old racer has made 21 starts throughout his young NTT IndyCar Series career, including a 21st-place finish in last year's Indianapolis 500. While Friday's scary crash wasn't ideal for the Caymanian racer, Simpson was able to walk away from the crash unscathed.

NASCAR Cup Series star Kyle Larson, who will be skipping all on-track activity at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Friday in favor of preparing for his second career Indianapolis 500 start, has yet to take a lap in Friday's Indianapolis 500 practice session.

Larson, like last season, is piloting the No. 17 Arrow McLaren entry in the Indianapolis 500.

Justin Allgaier will practice and qualify Larson's No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in preparation of Sunday's NASCAR All-Star Race, but Larson will skip Saturday's Heat Races, which means Larson will start from the rear of the field in the All-Star Race on Sunday, May 18.

Allgaier will also serve as the reserve driver for Larson in next weekend's NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600. Should Larson not be able to make it to Charlotte Motor Speedway in time following the Indianapolis 500 next Sunday, Allgaier would pilot the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in place of Larson.