ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- The first accident of the IndyCar season happened before a car even hit the track: A sanitation truck backed into Chip Ganassi’s hospitality tent in the paddock.
The tent was crumpled and removed from the paddock before Friday morning’s first practice session of the season.
IndyCar allows teams to assemble hospitality areas in the paddock to entertain sponsors and guests. Because the incident happened so early, the tent was not occupied. It was expected to be a celebratory weekend as Ganassi welcomed new sponsor PNC Bank this season.
The first IndyCar race of 2018 is Sunday on the temporary street course through the streets of downtown St. Petersburg.