First Take

With 16 laps to go in Sunday’s 107th running of the Indianapolis 500, disaster nearly struck.

Arrow Mclaren driver Felix Rosenqvist lost control in Turn 1, hitting the barrier before spinning into the middle of Turn 2. Andretti Autosport’s Kyle Kirkwood was unable to move in time, hitting Rosenqvist before a hard impact into the outside wall in Turn 2.

Kirkwood hit Rosenqvist with his left rear tire, which came untethered and launched over the catch fence at high speed. The tire just barely cleared the grandstand, full of thousands of people, crushing the front end of a Chevy Cruze in a parking lot.

What blew me away (aside from the catastrophic implications) is the speed the social media world swooped on it. In less than 15 minutes after the crash, I found out no one was injured, saw the photos of the car which was hit and knew who the car belonged to.

The power of social media is unreal.