Ryan Hunter-Reay crashed Friday in the first IndyCar Series practice at Texas Motor Speedway since changes were made to keep the cars from going airborne.
Hunter-Reay was OK and his car stayed on the ground. The left rear of Hunter-Reay's No. 27 Honda hit the outside wall before the car settled on the bottom of the high-banked, high-speed 1 1/2-mile track.
IndyCar this week required the use of closure panels on the rear wheel guards for Saturday night's race at TMS, and two other remaining superspeedway races. The change came after three Chevrolets went airborne during preparation for the Indianapolis 500.
Hunter-Reay says he's not sure what happened in Turn 2 during the team's first race simulation run. He says the single-car accident "was a complete surprise."
