Scott Dixon walks away from violent, frightening crash in Indianapolis 500

INDIANAPOLIS —Scott Dixon said it himself just three days earlier: This track owes nobody nothing. 

He won the pole for the Indianapolis 500 a week ago. Just hours later, he was held up at gunpoint in a Taco Bell drive-thru less than a mile from Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Then came Sunday as definitive proof — this track owes nobody nothing. 

Dixon and Jay Howard collided Sunday for a violent and frightening crash on Lap 53 of the 500 that sent Dixon’s No. 9 car airborne and colliding into the interior barrier.

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Howard was letting cars pass him as he was being lapped when he drifted into the wall due to an apparent mechanical failure. As Howard's car bounced back inside, Dixon had nowhere to go, went straight into Howard and immediately went airborne. His car flipped in the air before shattering into pieces when it hit the barrier.

"Definitely a bit of a rough ride," Dixon said on the television broadcast after the crash.

Both Dixon and Howard were evaluated and cleared by IU Health.

“It’s a testament to the safety we have,” said Dixon, who returned to the medical center and received a walking boot after being cleared.

Dixon was running a solid race and staying in his lane when Howard drifted into him. It was out of Dixon's control, and maybe that's why he was smiling afterwards. The track owes nobody nothing.

“Just bummed, man," Dixon said. "Wish I was still out there racing.”

Helio Castroneves was in front of Dixon when Howard hit the wall. He cut inside and was able to avoid Howard. 

"I saw they were flying. I ducked, I closed my eyes," Castroneves said. "When I opened (them), I was in the grass. Hold on, you know."

Castroneves thought Dixon was in trouble and was relieved everyone was okay. Castronoves also broke his winglet in the crash, but he's not sure how. 

Dixon said when a crash like that happens, he just has to ride it and wait for the impact. This one was a little more jarring than normal, but Dixon said he quickly realized he was okay.

His wife, Emma Davies-Dixon, told WTHR-13 last Sunday after Dixon won the pole that she didn't want Dixon visiting Sebastien Bourdais in the hospital before qualifying because she didn't want him seeing the damage that could happen in the car before he got in one himself. Dixon did anyway.

Sunday, they both saw firsthand what can happen. This time, Bourdais made his way to the medical center to check on Dixon on crutches. Davies-Dixon was hugging every friendly face she saw as she stood outside the medical center. 

Former driver Dario Franchitti, who was with Dixon during the Taco Bell robbery, also checked on his friend.

Dixon has spoke often about his single-mindedness about first place, especially at the Indy 500. He has said they come here to win, and anything short of that is disappointing. 

"We finished second here a couple of times and it's almost the worst place to finish when you come so close," Dixon said last week. 

It's been a season of close calls for Dixon, as he finished in the top five of each of the first five races without a victory. It had been frustrating for him to have so many close defeats. 

Sunday's crash may still be worse than finishing second, but he has his health, and at least he didn't have another excruciating close defeat.