Marcus Armstrong, the 24-year-old IndyCar driver from New Zealand, experienced a heavy crash during Indianapolis 500 practice on Saturday, May 17, 2025, leading to uncertainty about his participation in qualifying. The incident occurred as Armstrong entered Turn 1 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where strong winds, gusting up to 30 mph, created challenging conditions for drivers approaching speeds of 240 mph.

Armstrong's car made contact with the wall between Turns 1 and 2, resulting in significant damage. Although he was able to climb out of the wrecked car, he was promptly attended to by medical personnel and taken away on a stretcher to the infield care center for evaluation. Despite the circumstances, Armstrong gave a thumbs-up as he was being loaded into the ambulance.

Dr. Julia Vaizer, the medical director for IndyCar and the speedway, reported that Armstrong was awake and alert, stating, "He is awake. He is alert. He's doing well". However, he was not immediately cleared to make a qualifying attempt. It remained possible that he could be cleared later on Saturday.

Meyer Shank Racing initiated work on preparing the backup car, with assistance from Chip Ganassi Racing, which maintains a close working relationship with the team. The team may want Armstrong to get some practice time on Saturday before attempting to qualify. The identity of who would drive the backup car, if Armstrong couldn't, remained uncertain.

If Armstrong is unable to qualify on Saturday, he would join four other drivers competing for the final three spots in the 33-car field on Sunday. Without a qualifying run on Saturday, the best they could do would be to secure one of the last three positions on the starting grid.

Armstrong's teammate, Felix Rosenqvist, expressed concern about the crash, remarking, "It looked a bit weird, to be honest... I haven't seen any updates or anything. I just tried to look at the screen while I was sitting in the car. Hopefully, they can bounce back quickly".

Armstrong, who is currently 14th in the series standings, previously drove for Chip Ganassi Racing for the past two seasons and remains under contract with them while driving for Meyer Shank, which is a Ganassi affiliate.

After leaving the medical center, Armstrong did not answer questions.