| 1 | (AP) -- IndyCar driver Justin Wilson was in a coma and in critical condition after sustaining a head injury when he was hit by a large piece of debris that broke off a car Sunday in the crash-filled race at Pocono Raceway. |
| 2 | IndyCar released the information on Wilson's condition Sunday night and said he was undergoing further evaluation at Lehigh Valley Health Network Cedar Crest Hospital in Allentown. |
| 3 | The debris broke off Sage Karam's car when Karam spun into the wall. |
| 4 | Wilson's car veered left and directly into an interior wall. |
| 5 | Wilson was swarmed by the safety crew and airlifted by helicopter. |
| 6 | ''It's just a tough one right now,'' said Michael Andretti, car owner for Wilson and race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay. |
| 7 | ''Our thoughts and prayers are with Justin right now. |
| 8 | We're going to see. |
| 9 | IndyCar had a subdued victory lane and Hunter-Reay was not sprayed with the traditional confetti. |
| 10 | The American said his thoughts were only with Wilson, an extremely popular driver in the paddock who speaks on behalf of his peers regarding safety and competition. |
| 11 | ''All I know is that he was unconscious, he was not responding and he was airlifted,'' Hunter-Reay said. |
| 12 | ''That's all very bad. |
| 13 | The accident was a grim reminder of the dangers of open-wheel racing. |
| 14 | Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon died in 2011 after his car became ensnared in a fiery 15-car pileup, flew over another vehicle and landed in a catch at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. |
| 15 | Wheldon's head hit a post in the fence, and he died instantly. |
| 16 | He was the last fatality in a form of racing that saw drivers Scott Brayton (1996), Tony Renna (2003) and Paul Dana (2006), among others, die after wrecks. |
| 17 | Wilson's wife, Julia, was transported to Pennsylvania from their home in Colorado by IndyCar, while his younger brother, Stefan, was lent Tony Stewart's plane to make the trip from Indianapolis. |
| 18 | Stewart, the three-time NASCAR champion and former IndyCar champion, is an Indiana native. |
| 19 | The race resumed after the Karam and Wilson accident with seven laps remaining and Hunter-Reay picked his way through the field. |
| 20 | He passed Juan Pablo Montoya, Takuma Sato and then used a bold inside pass of leader Gabby Chaves to take the lead with five to go. |
| 21 | Chaves then appeared to have an engine failure that brought out the caution with three to go. |
| 22 | The race ended under yellow. |
| 23 | Hunter-Reay tried to get an update on Wilson before the race resumed, and again before he climbed from his race-winning Honda. |
| 24 | ''I thought Justin was OK the whole time, and I thought he was in the ambulance with Sage heading off to get a routine check,'' Hunter-Reay said. |
| 25 | Josef Newgarden was second and IndyCar points leader Montoya finished third. |
| 26 | Graham Rahal, who was second in the standings at the start of the race, was involved in an early crash. |
| 27 | Montoya's cushion went from nine points to 35 with next Sunday's finale in Sonoma set to decide the title. |
| 28 | The finale is worth double points, and six drivers will head to California in contention for the title. |
| 29 | Hunter-Reay is mathematically eliminated, but picked up his second win of the season in what's been a disappointing year for Andretti and Honda. |
| 30 | Hunter-Reay was one of many who was discussing safety measures -and not his win - for the open-cockpit series. |
| 31 | ''Maybe in the future we can work toward something that resembles a canopy,'' Hunter-Reay said. |
| 32 | ''Something that can give us a little bit of protection and still keep the tradition of the sport. |
| 33 | The 37-year-old Wilson, a native of Sheffield, England, entered this season without a full-time ride. |
| 34 | He latched on with Andretti and was in the sixth of seven scheduled races with the team. |
| 35 | The deal was put together right before the season-opening race in March and initially started as just a two-race agreement at Indianapolis. |
| 36 | Sponsorship was found for another five races as the season progressed, and Wilson finished a season-best second earlier this month at Mid-Ohio. |
| 37 | He said after the race that he raced clean and did not take any risks that would have jeopardized eventual race-winner Rahal because Rahal was part of the championship race and Wilson was not. |
| 38 | Wilson broke a bone in his back at Mid-Ohio in 2011. |
| 39 | He missed the final six races of the season and wore a back brace for more than two months as he was restricted from any physical activity. |
| 40 | The injury kept him out of the season finale at Las Vegas and the race where Wheldon died. |
| 41 | He broke his pelvis and suffered a bruised lung in the 2013 season finale at Fontana. |
| 42 | Wilson said in 2012 his injuries and Wheldon's death did nothing to change his perspective or make him question his career choice. |
| 43 | ''I've had the conversation with Julia - this is what we do, and you try to make the best plans if that ever happens,'' Wilson told The Associated Press upon his return in 2012. |
| 44 | ''You've got to know the risks and work out if those risks are acceptable. |
| 45 | To me, it's acceptable. |
| 46 | But I'm not going to stop trying to improve it. |
| 47 | ''All the drivers, this IndyCar, we're always trying to make it safer, but at the end of the day, it's a race car. |
| 48 | We're racing hard, we're racing IndyCars and it's fast. |