Pocono IndyCar: Hunter-Reay out of hospital but in doubt for race

The Andretti Autosport driver was released from Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Allentown on Saturday evening, having been taken there by road for checks after a heavy impact with the wall during qualifying.But an IndyCar statement said Hunter-Reay, who suffered hip and knee injuries in the crash, was not yet cleared to drive and would be re-evaluated on Sunday morning.

Hunter-Reay tweeted on Saturday night that the impact had measured 138G. He expects to "wake up sore" on Sunday but hopes he can still race.

"During qualifying today, out of nowhere, the car stepped out on me," Hunter-Reay said.

"It was a bit of a wiggle, which I caught.

"The second time it happened, it came with no warning - which is a bit confusing.

"I hit my hip pretty bad as well as my knee, so the doctors thought it would be best to go in for further evaluation.

"After a CT scan and MRI, I am able to go and get a good night's sleep."

If he is cleared to race, Hunter-Reay believes he can still take victory.

"I know the entire Andretti Autosport team worked hard to get the car put back together and with 500 miles, there is still a chance to win from the back of the field," he added.

Hunter-Reay's accident was one of three big impacts at Pocono on Saturday, with Ed Carpenter crashing in practice and Helio Castroneves doing so shortly before Hunter-Reay in qualifying.

Carpenter, who missed qualifying, and Castroneves were both able to run in Saturday evening's final practice session in their repaired cars.

Hunter-Reay's Andretti Autosport team-mate Takuma Sato took pole, and admitted seeing the sister car's crash just beforehand had unnerved him.

"It really made me nervous because he was just in front of me [in the running order]," said Sato.

"We share a lot of parts and philosophy on the car, so it's correct to expect what he has is what I have.

"What happened to him is what could happen to me too."

Sato said the engineers quickly ascertained that Hunter-Reay's problem was not a mechanical failure and then made minor set-up adjustments.

"It sounds like he dropped a wheel to the inside of the yellow line in Turn 3 and made the car upset," Sato added.

"The most important thing [is] it's not failure, it's not something coming from nowhere.

"Basically the engineers just go through the maximum data possible at that particular moment and maybe we back off a little bit on the front wing to a little bit secure the rear.

"That's what we did."