Dismore

INDIANAPOLIS -- Mark Dismore became the third driver to test the Steel and Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) wall at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway when the Indy Racing League veteran spun and crashed in the first turn in the final 30 minutes of Thursday's practice session.

Dismore will be held overnight at Methodist Hospital for observation after suffering a concussion, according to IRL director of medical services Dr. Henry Bock.

The driver from Greenfield, Ind. has not been cleared to drive, Bock said. A decision on Dismore's participation status will not be made until an examination next week.

The six-time Indianapolis 500 starter spun entering turn 1 and hit the SAFER barrier with the right rear and right side of his Dallara/Chevrolet.

The car did a quarter spin to the left, slid down the track, then did a three-quarter spin to the right, stopping at the inside edge of the track in the short chute between turns 1 and 2.

Dismore was briefly unconscious but was awake and alert when transported to Methodist.

"From all the data, it doesn't look like anything went wrong," said team owner Sam Schmidt, himself paralyzed from the neck down after breaking his neck in a crash at Walt Disney World Speedway on Jan. 6, 2000. "It was just one of those `Happy Hour' deals. I think he's OK.

"Inevitably, you are concerned about your driver. We are all doing pretty stellar speeds here this month. When you lose it in turn 1, we already had one driver injured there this week (P.J. Jones). Mark had the car flying and we had high expectations of qualifying in the front two rows. The car is pretty far gone, unfortunately. We can fix cars, but we can't fix people."

Robby McGehee crashed in the third-turn SAFER wall Sunday and suffered hairline fractures to his left leg and a cracked vertebra. Jones crashed Tuesday and also suffered a cracked vertebra.

Despite those injuries, the other drivers trying to make the Indianapolis 500 field believe the wall saved the drivers from more serious injury.

"I think this new wall they made is a great thing," said Tony Kanaan, Thursday's fastest driver at 229.503 miles per hour. "But, I don't know about these cars. The way we sit in these cars is different than the way we sit in the CART cars. I don't know what it is, but I think the way this place is, you always hit backwards. I can't say it's the cars, it's the place. When you lose it, they lose coming into the corners and when you hit, you go in backwards and the first thing you are going to break is your back.

"We're doing 229 miles per hour a lap. That's fast. People crash at 60 miles an hour on the street and they die. Here, we are walking away with a fractured vertebra. Motor racing will never be safe enough, because we are going too fast."