Veteran Indy Car Driver Holmes Injured in Crash at Laguna Seca

Veteran race driver Howdy Holmes suffered a concussion when his Indy car crashed and flipped Friday during practice for Sunday’s 300-kilometer race at Laguna Seca Raceway.

Holmes’ Lola lost a wheel in Laguna Seca’s notorious corkscrew turns on the backside of the 1.9-mile course, slammed into a guard rail and turned upside down.

Rick Mears, two-time Indy 500 winner who will be a spectator at this race, was the first person on the scene and directed the safety crew in righting the car and getting Holmes out. Mears is not driving Sunday because his feet are still tender from a 1984 accident. His driving has been limited to oval-track races.

Holmes, 37, of Ann Arbor, Mich., was taken to Community Hospital in Monterey where Dr. Steve Olvey, medical director for the sanctioning Championship Auto Racing Teams, reported that Holmes had a concussion and listed his condition as good.

Holmes has not won in six Indy car seasons but qualified for the front row last year at Indianapolis. He has driven in all 12 Indy car races this season with his highest finish a ninth at Cleveland.

Indianapolis 500 winner Danny Sullivan won the provisional pole for Sunday’s race with a lap at 125.555 m.p.h. Another 45-minute session today will determine the 26-car field.