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Scott Dixon walks away from massive accident at Indianapolis 500

28 May, 2017

 

After claiming pole position last Monday, Scott Dixon looked hopeful to win the 101st Indianapolis 500 and repeat his success of 2008 where he won from pole position.

But after leading early into the race, Dixon was taken out by Jay Howard after his car got up out of the groove in Turn 1, contacting the outside wall, and barreling down into the path of Dixon’s car — the result was a wild ride up and over Howard, sending Dixon flying through the air and plummeting down onto a barrier which damn near ripped the car in half.

Helio Castroneves can be seen driving completely underneath Dixon as he is airborne and run off into the grass to avoid being collected in the incident.

Thankfully all drivers involved were able to emerge unaided and the race was red-flagged in order for repairs to be made to the barrier and fencing.

As for the cause of the incident,  Howard blamed Ryan Hunter-Reay for pushing him up in the gray, saying: “We were out there just trying to pick up some laps and see if we get some yellows and try to salvage something from the race. Hunter-Reay comes, gets a run on me [and] I lift, let him go trying to be the nice guy. And then he merged right over on me and pushed me out in all the gray and all the marbles. And the rest is history … [causing] a massive accident.

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“To say I’m unhappy is an understatement.”

Dixon remained a lot calmer and humble following the horrifying accident, telling local media that he was “Just bummed” and “Glad [that] everybody is okay. It was definitely a wild ride for sure. Big thanks to Dallara and everybody for the safety we have right now.”

See just how lucky he was in the footage below:

NZ Classic Car magazine, September/October 2026 issue 407, on sale now

16 August, 2026

We love bugs!
A bit of TLC that became a major restoration
The 1302S, or ‘Super Beetle’ as it became known, was built for two years before it, too, was replaced by a further-enhanced Beetle, the 1303, continuing an amazing 65-year lineage for one of the World’s best-known shapes.
The world’s best-selling single-model vehicle, the VW Beetle, possibly established another record for the amount of controversy it has created since the inception of the Type 1.
In a meeting with Hitler in June 1934, Ferdinand Porsche was contracted to build a ‘People’s Car’ that could accommodate two adults and three children, was air-cooled and simple to maintain, and could cruise economically at moderate speed along Germany’s proposed new Autobahns.
Our feature car, a 1972 1302S ‘Super Beetle’, was found by Dave and Michelle Dickie in Mosgiel a few years back. It was a runner, but like most VWs of this age, it needed a little TLC. They were looking for a daily driver for Michelle when they first came upon the VW being sold locally on behalf of its owner.
“The owner offered it to his grandchildren, and they didn’t want it, so he got the guy out at Mosgiel in the Mobil petrol station to sell it for him, and he put it on Trade Me for them. We never met the owner, and we were always dealing with the guy at the petrol station. We put a bid on it, and we were the only people that bid on it.”
Their bid was eventually successful, eight years ago. Not knowing much of the history, in situations like that, it’s always a risk buying a car, but they were in for a bit of a surprise.

The other Q car

12 August, 2026

Say the word ‘bond’ to anyone in the street and around 80 per cent straight away think of pop culture’s least-secret secret agent. The other 20 per cent may think of the wad of cash required to secure a flat or hire equipment that one gets back providing the fixtures and fittings stay much as they were.
However, mention ‘bond’ in specialist classic car circles and people will spin a very different yarn. If you dig deep enough, you will find an eccentric British carmaker that, throughout its 23 years in business, spawned some quirky and charming little cars.
The company was founded by Paul Sharp in 1922 under the name of Sharp’s Commercials Limited. However, the company did not start producing cars until 1948. The first car to carry the Bond name was the Bond Minicar. A three-wheeled, soft-top, two-cylinder eco car, the Minicar was a big hit at the time as the desire for an economical urban runabout that didn’t attract four-wheel car tax was strong in post-war Britain. All in all, 34,285 Minicars were produced over 26 years in a variety of variants.