Four days ago, Oliver Askew was just preparing to guide Devlin DeFranceso to the Indy Lights double-head race on a track he had never driven before, while coping with the frustration of roaming in the paddock where he hoped he would still be able to participate.
Waking up on Wednesday morning, the 2020 IndyCar rookie is preparing to race with as many teams as possible for the second consecutive weekend. Late on Tuesday night, Ed Carpenter Racing announced that Askew would fill the injured Rinus VeeKay at Road America this coming weekend. According to the team, he successfully underwent an outpatient operation on Tuesday afternoon to repair a left clavicle fracture.
VeeKay suffered a bicycle accident during a training session on Monday and fractured his collarbone. Since then, he has been taken care of by IndyCar medical staff. Due to his serious injury and the need for necessary surgery, the Dutch driver ranked fifth in the standings, 56 points behind leader Pato Oward, and was not qualified to drive-at least a round driver is required.
On Monday, VeeKay posted a photo of him and his coach out riding a bicycle on his Instagram story, with the caption "Cycling to Chicago."
"What happened is very unfortunate and definitely not the best time," Vikai said in a statement. "The operation went well. I didn't feel any pain. I definitely want to fight for my position in the championship and drive the Direct Supply car. I will do my best to prepare for Central Ohio."
The team said that VeeKay will be reassessed before the game in central Ohio on July 4th. Due to NBC's comprehensive coverage of the Summer Olympics, this will result in more than a month's rest this season. In 2016, the then Ed Carpenter Racing driver Josef Newgarden fractured his clavicle in a race at Texas Motor Speedway on June 12. Two weeks later, he successfully participated in the next event held at Road America on June 26. Games.
For Askew, the news is that after he replaced his good friend Felix Rosenqvist in the second race of the Belle Isle’s Detroit Grand Prix, the driver of No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevy crashed at over 100 mph. Tire guardrail. Early stages of the first game on Saturday. After Rosenquist was taken out of his car, put on a neck brace and pushed onto the ambulance on a stretcher, he was examined at the Infield Medical Center and was ruled that there were no major injuries. As a precaution, Rosenqvist was sent to the DMC Detroit receiving hospital for overnight observation.
The Swedish driver was released on Sunday morning, but on Saturday night, AMSP team officials announced that Asker, who played for the team as a rookie in 2020 but announced before the end of the season, will not return in the second season, will make up Starting from the past offseason, this is equivalent to his own full season substitute.
More: "I think Oliver is a great talent": In the reunion of Arrow McLaren SP and Askew
Askew, who had never participated in the Belle Isle street circuit before, spent an incredible late night with his former engineer, trying to learn a brand new course, while the mechanic prepared the team’s spare car and inserted Askew’s The seat, the seat has been in the Andretti Autosport transporter for the entire season and purchased a pair of racing shoes from the old firefighting suits of Alex Palou and Juan Pablo Montoya for Askew to wear on Sunday.
On Sunday, he was ranked 23rd among 25 cars, but before his No. 7 Chevrolet had a mechanical failure, he only ran 46 laps out of 70, and he was forced to be last. From the weekend to at least Tuesday night, the state of Rosenquist in the Sunday American Road Race, as well as the three practice sessions and one qualifying session spanning Friday and Saturday, remain unclear.
On Monday afternoon, when he was out for lunch with his former teammate (and Saturday’s game champion) Marcus Eriksson and his girlfriend, he posted a photo on his Instagram story and said back In the Indianapolis area, AMSP drivers seemed to be in good spirits.
For Askew, this role not only provides more time to prepare for the race, but also allows himself to re-adjust to Conner Daly's new team, car and teammates, as well as the road track he is familiar with. The 24-year-old driver took part in a double-headed weekend race at Road America at the beginning of his IndyCar rookie season in July last year, where he achieved his best finish in 15th place. Askew also participated in Road America six times during his Road To Indy ladder system era, but despite his dominance in the three-year plan, he never won there.
It was a period of his career. He and VeeKay became rivals. The American driver won the championship in USF2000 and Indy Lights, and VeeKay won the mid-year championship in Indy Pro in 2000. Between the two of them, they won 31. They participated in 48 Indy Road series in 2017-19. At the time, they accounted for nearly half of the podium in these series (67 of the 144 games).
"First of all, I hope everything goes well for Linus and that he can recover soon," Ascu said in the press release. "I am grateful to Ed and his ECR team for believing that I will take over Chevrolet No. 21 this weekend. They have a strong plan and I look forward to helping them in every possible way at Road America."
Send an email to IndyStar Motorsport reporter Nathan Brown to nlbrown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @By_NathanBrown.