Raphael Matos and Vitor "Dances With Fire" Meira have knocked wheels, demonstrating why open wheel racing can be quite dangerous.
The two were driving along the front straightaway, buzzed wheels, and hit the wall in Turn #1. Meira's car was actually scooting along its side, backward, with the bottom of the car scraping the wall.
This looks worse than the other crashes, as the ambulance is on the way, and Matos is not getting out of his car immediately. On the track feed, we can see Matos staggering to the ambulance, so he seems to be okay. Meira is out of the car, and the Delphi Safety Crew has him on the stretcher. He was conscious and complaining of pain.
Meria made an impressive, balls-out move early on when his car caught on fire, after a fueling error. The car caught fire, Will Power's crew put it out, and he drove off.
That's why I'm calling the guy Dances With Fire from now on. I hope it sticks.
And I hope they're both okay.
Update
(I just learned that Meira's fuel guy had some 2nd degree burns on his arms from the fire incident, and also stayed at work.)
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