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IndyCar
IN THE COCKPIT: Simona De Silvestro, Kentucky
Going into Sunday, I knew it was all on me. I had to push myself to have the confidence to run in traffic...
Simona De Silvestro  |  Posted October 04, 2011  
Simona de Silverstro's day came to an early end at Kentucky after a freak pit lane accident. (Photo: LAT)
SimonaDesilvestro.com


The Kentucky race weekend started off with an interesting twist. On our way to the racetrack, we stopped in a little city called Vevay, IN. It’s in Switzerland County and I was told that it was designed to resemble some of the features of my home country. We got a guided tour of the city and I had a great time.

A couple of my favorite parts were the Schenck Mansion, Ogle Haus and the downtown area. I even got to try Switzerland’s national instrument, the alphorn (think Ricola commercials)! It took me a few tries to figure out how to make sound with it, but I finally got it right. I’m pretty sure I won’t be joining an alphorn band anytime soon – it’s pretty tough!

The weekend schedule was packed into just two days, so Saturday was pretty hectic. Our first practice didn’t go as planned and we only got a few laps in, but we were able to improve the car for the second session. I really liked the feel of the car and was getting really comfortable out there, which is a huge step for me.

Our qualifying session was awesome. I think it was one of the best I’ve ever had on an oval. The team did a great job and everything felt dialed in on my Nuclear Clean Air Energy car. We were P13 and I was really excited to start the race.

Going into Sunday, I knew it was all on me. I had to push myself to have the confidence to run in traffic. I wasn’t too happy with the start of the race. When I lost some positions, I knew I could do better. When the first re-start came around, I was ready. I started making passes and everything was going really well. I think it was one of the first times since Indy that I was actually passing and going forward on an oval. I realized that I was having a great time out there!

Then all of a sudden, I lost power in turn one and had to make an early pit stop. We re-fired the engine a couple times and as I took off to exit pit lane, my car just seemed to take off. It was going full power and I had no control. I’ve never had that happen before and it was a crazy feeling.

When the car came to a stop, I was in the KV Racing pit box. After I got out of the car, I went to apologize to the KV crew. One of the guys had a knee injury resulting from the incident, so I went to the medical center to see him. He was being treated and I wasn’t able to talk to him, so I called him on Monday night after the race. It was a horrible incident and I want to apologize to the whole KV crew. I hope they know that it wasn’t intentional and I feel awful that it happened.

Needless to say, it wasn’t how we hoped our Kentucky weekend would end. We had a strong run going that accomplished our goals of advancing positions, gaining confidence and having fun. It’s a shame that our day ended early, but I’m proud of my team for their hard work and now we’re looking forward to ending the season strong in Vegas.

IndyCar has lots of fun events and promotions leading up to Sunday’s race. There will be driver autograph sessions, concerts and they even closed down the Las Vegas strip on Thursday night for us! If you’re able to go out for the season finale, you won’t be disappointed. Hope to see you all there!

Learn more about Simona, her team and her sponsors at www.simonadesilvestro.com.
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Simona De Silvestro

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