IndyCar: Robert Wickens has rods, screws placed in spine during surgery

By Asher Fair | Aug 21, 2018

FORT WORTH, TX - JUNE 08: Robert Wickens, driver of the #6 Lucas Oil SPM Honda (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports rookie Robert Wickens had rods and screws placed in his spine during surgery following his IndyCar crash at Pocono Raceway.

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports rookie Robert Wickens was involved in a horrific crash during Sunday’s IndyCar race, the ABC Supply 500, at Pocono Raceway, and he has since undergone surgery on his spine.

On the seventh lap of the 200-lap race around the three-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Pocono Raceway triangle in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, a restart took place following the caution flag period that began on the race’s first lap as a result of a small incident involving contact between Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Graham Rahal and Ed Carpenter Racing’s Spencer Pigot coming to the green flag.

Wickens restarted the race in sixth place in his #6 Honda. Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay restarted in fourth in his #28 Honda. Both drivers got fantastic restarts, as Hunter-Reay moved up to third coming out of turn one with Wickens close behind him in fourth.

More from IndyCar

Wickens attempted to pass Hunter-Reay on the straightaway between turns one and two. He was on his inside as turn two approached before the cars of the two drivers made contact. Hunter-Reay’s car spun up the track, taking Wickens’s car with it.

When Hunter-Reay’s car hit the wall, Wickens’s car was lifted into the catch fence, where it was sent into a violent spin. It landed on the track, where it continued spinning before coming to a stop.

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ James Hinchcliffe, Dale Coyne Racing rookie Pietro Fittipaldi and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Takuma Sato also got caught up in the horrific accident.

Wickens was reportedly awake and alert after the accident when he was attended to by the AMR IndyCar Safety Team and the IndyCar medical staff. He was then taken off on a stretcher before he was airlifted to Lehigh Valley Hospital – Cedar Crest in Allentown, Pennsylvania, for further evaluation.

The 29-year-old Canadian is in stable condition after undergoing successful surgery on his spine to stabilize a fracture associated with a spinal cord injury. He had titanium rods and screws placed into his spine during this surgery, and he is expected to undergo more surgeries to treat fractures in his lower extremities and his right forearm.

The severity of his spinal cord injury is still unknown.

Next. Top 10 IndyCar drivers of all-time. dark

Our continued thoughts and prayers are with Robert Wickens and his friends and family as he begins the long road to recovery from his injuries and as he continues to be treated for them.