Sebastien Bourdais Wreck Illustrates the Rollercoaster Ride of IndyCar

Apr 23, 2017; Birmingham, AL, USA; Sebastien Bourdais waves during driver introductions for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park. Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports /

As fans know, IndyCar drivers can experience the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Sebastien Bourdais’ wreck in Indy 500 qualifications illustrated just that.

Sebastien Bourdais topped the Fast Friday practice session yesterday with the fastest lap of the month. He clocked in at an average speed of 233.116 miles per hour (38.607 seconds) around the 4-turn, 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in Speedway, Indiana.

Being on a Dale Coyne Racing team that has historically not been fast on ovals, this came as a shock to many. In terms of qualifications today, not many people were sure if Bourdais would indeed be a contender to clock a solid speed to lock himself into the Fast 9 to contend for the pole position tomorrow.

That is, until he went out onto the speedway in his Dale Coyne Racing Honda and posted a qualification lap at 231.472 miles per hour, the fastest of the day.

When he backed it up with a lap at 231.595 miles per hour to raise his 2-lap average speed to 231.534 miles per hour, that was when we started to see that Bourdais was definitely a contender for the pole position.

Then, all hell broke loose in the #18 car when Bourdais lost control and slammed into the turn 2 barrier nose-first, causing one of the worst-looking wrecks at Indy in a long time.

Bourdais, the 38-year-old veteran, was taken to a local hospital for pain in his lower extremities following the scary accident that shook fans and drivers alike.

This wreck is certainly unique in how violent and unexpected it was, happening in the blink of an eye. But what is really unique and crazy about it is the situation during which it happened. For a veteran driver who in six previous attempts has never started nor finished higher than 7th place in the Indy 500, Bourdais was doing a heck of a job this month, and he was doing it for a team that has had no success whatsoever at superspeedways over the past few seasons.

To go from an engine failure in practice on Thursday, his second in five days, to posting the fastest lap on Fast Friday since 1996, Bourdais was experiencing the highest of the highs. That continued into the first two laps of his excellent qualifying run.

But it ended abruptly with the extremely violent accident. As if fans and drivers needed another reminder of just how dangerous this sport can be, Bourdais’ wreck perfectly illustrated both the dangers of the sport and how it can be a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs.

Qualifying for the Indy 500 will continue tomorrow, Sunday, May 21st, 2017 and is set to last from 2:45 PM ET to 5:45 PM ET. If Bourdais’ car gets repaired and he is medically cleared, he will be able to qualify as high as 10th for the race next Sunday. The race is scheduled for Sunday, May 28th, 2017 at 12:19 PM ET. For a full pre-race and race schedule, click here.

If Bourdais’ car is repaired and he is medically cleared, will he be a contender to start in the 10th position for the race and/or become the 2017 Indy 500 champion? Be sure to follow me on Instagram as well as Beyond the Flag on both Instagram and Twitter. Also, don’t forget to follow along with Beyond the Flag for the latest news, opinions, and analysis stemming from a number of different motorsports series. You don’t want to miss any of it.