Robert Wickens taken to hospital after flying into fence during 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 for about two hours.

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. Once Wickens' car soared over Hunter-Reay's and hit the fence, it spun round and round like a top. The fencing was shredded, and Wickens' car was reduced to just the tub, which came to a rest on the track along an interior wall.

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.

After the race, IndyCar announced that Wickens had orthopedic injuries and was still being evaluated.

"That's the worst thing you can see. He's hurt. He's awake and alert and at least he's alive," driver Sebastien Bourdais said.

Only eight laps had been completed in the 500-mile race before the race was stopped.

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.

Fittipaldi, who broke both of his legs in a May crash while driving in a World Endurance Championship event, tweeted that his gratitude to walk away from the crash.

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, which was repaired before the race resumed after a two-hour delay.

Pocono Raceway president Ben May said about 80 feet of fence and a few posts were damaged in the wreck, saying "It may not be the prettiest job, but it's going to be safe."

But Bourdais raised concerns about the quality of the repairs and condition of the fence before he got back in the car.

Graham Rahal also addressed the crash in a tweet during the delay.

It was the second crash of the race, as 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.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.