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IndyCar: The Worst 10 Wrecks In The DW12 Era

By Asher Fair

May 24, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; The car of IndyCar Series driver Tony Kanaan is towed off the track after a crash during the 2015 Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
May 24, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; The car of IndyCar Series driver Tony Kanaan is towed off the track after a crash during the 2015 Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 24, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; IndyCar Series driver Ed Carpenter sits in his car after a crash during the 2015 Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
May 24, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; IndyCar Series driver Ed Carpenter sits in his car after a crash during the 2015 Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports /

There have been some pretty nasty crashes in the Verizon IndyCar Series since the DW12 chassis was adopted back at the beginning of the 2012 season. In the five seasons that have passed since then, which wrecks have been the most gruesome to watch?

The 2017 season is literally now right around the corner. There are just over two weeks until the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

In motorsports, crashes are inevitable. That is just the way it is. In the Verizon IndyCar Series, that is no different. In this 2017 season, there will be crashes, and lots of them. How bad will they be compared to some of the worst the series has seen over the past five years?

2012-2016 Crash Statistics

Let’s have a look at some facts and figures here, all accessed from Racing Reference.

  • 15 races in the 2012 season
    • There were a total of 61 full-course cautions, which comes out to an average of about 4.07 full-course cautions per race.
  • 19 races in the 2013 season
    • There were a total of 86 full-course cautions, which comes out to an average of about 4.53 full-course cautions per race.
  • 18 races in the 2014 season
    • There were a total of 66 full-course cautions, which comes out to an average of about 3.67 full-course cautions per race.
  • 16 races in the 2015 season
    • There were a total of 74 full-course cautions, which comes out to an average of about 4.63 full-course cautions per race.
  • 16 races in the 2016 season
    • There were a total of 46 full-course cautions, which comes out to an average of about 2.88 full-course cautions per race.

Over the past five seasons, there have been a total of 84 races that have produced 333 full-course cautions, which comes out to an average of about 3.96 full-course cautions per race.

With 17 races on this season’s schedule, we can expect around 67 full-course cautions this season assuming a rough average of 3.96 per race. Will any of the crashes that lead to those cautions match the severity of these wrecks?

Nobody will know until the 2017 season is over, and it has not even begun yet. But what we do know is that these 10 wrecks that I am about to share with you have been very severe.

NOTE: No drivers were killed as a result of any of these wrecks.