DeFrancesco went airborne after he was hit by Pedersen. DeFrancesco did a spin in the air and came back down. Somehow, Conor Daly took the outside track and avoided the wreckage.
Devlin DeFrancesco during day two of the NTT IndyCar Series Open Test on Feb. 3, 2023, in Thermal, California. (Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images)
Conor Daly talks with his crew during practice for the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)
"I’m fine," DeFrancesco said after being cleared from the medical facility, via Racer. "Not the way you want to start the season. We had concerns about Turn 3 and made IndyCar very aware of it. There have been multiple incidents there all weekend because it’s slippery. And that was the scenario that happened to me.
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"I saw Helio spinning in front of me and then I saw the No. 55 coming and I knew it was going to be a big one and braced up and got ready for it. It was a wild ride."
It was a less-than-ideal way to start the 2023 season.
The race started with Andretti Autosport drivers in the 1-2 spot. Roman Grosjean picked up the pole prior to the start and Colton Herta was by his side.
Romain Grosjean, the pole sitter, sits in his car before warmup laps for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Sunday, March 5, 2023, in Florida. (AP Photo/Steve Nesius)
Will Power is the defending IndyCar Series champion. Marcus Ericcson won the Indianapolis 500 last year.