Jones second driver to hit soft walls

AP

  
 
   

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Rookie PJ Jones became the second driver to hit the new "soft" wall at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in a crash Tuesday that left him injured and scattered debris across the track.

Jones was taken to Methodist Hospital for precautionary reasons and was alert and conscious, speedway officials said. He was complaining of upper back and neck pain.

Driving for John Menard, Jones ran into the wall in turn four, spun out of control and into a padded area of the wall during practice for the Indianapolis 500.

The yellow flag closed practice for the day.

On Sunday, Robbie McGehee sustained small fractures to his upper spine and lower left leg when he was the first driver to crash into the padding installed on the outside walls of all four turns on the 2½-mile oval.

On Monday, Jones turned in the fourth-fastest lap of the day at 225.930 mph.

His father, Parnelli, won the pole in 1962 with a four-lap average of 150.370. His lap of 150.729 set the one-lap record at that time.

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