Robert Wickens' airborne crash damages fence, stops IndyCar race

Robert Wickens went soaring into the fence at Pocono Raceway in a scary wreck that brought Sunday's IndyCar race to a halt.

The Canadian driver was attempting to pass Ryan Hunter-Reay when the two cars slightly touched. That caused Hunter-Reay's car to careen into the wall, and Wickens' car was pulled along for the ride. Wickens launched over Hunter-Reay's car and sailed into the catchfence, where the tub of his Honda spun several times before crashing back onto the track.

Medical workers attended to Wickens, who was taken to an ambulance before being transported to a helicopter. IndyCar vice president of communications Curt Cavin said Wickens, 29, was awake and alert and being taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital.

James Hinchcliffe,  Takuma Sato and Pietro Fittipaldi were also involved in the wreck.

Hinchcliffe seemed to be in pain, grabbing his wrists as he slowly left his car. He was cleared from the medical center but declined to discuss the crash out of respect for Wickens, his teammate at Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.

Team owner Dale Coyne said Fittipaldi was being checked for an ankle injury. Fittipaldi broke both of his legs in a May crash while driving in a World Endurance Championship event.

The race was red flagged, and drivers were allowed out of their cars. The impact of the wreck tore out a large section of fencing that IndyCar said would take at least one hour to repair.

It was the second crash of the race, as Graham Rahal wrecked Spencer Pigot while the green flag flew on Lap 1. Rahal was hit with a drive-through penalty on the restart for avoidable contact. Pigot said he expects his team to repair the car and to get back on the track.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.