Colton Herta medically cleared to race in Indy 500

INDIANAPOLIS — Colton Herta has been medically cleared to race in the Indianapolis 500 after a crash during practice Friday.

Herta spun out entering Turn 1 and his back tires bumped into the wall. His car flipped into the air and landed upside down before skidding to a stop.

"Physically, I'm fine. Mentally, I'm fine, but it sucks that the car's destroyed," Herta told reporters Friday after receiving treatment at the infield care center. "I wish we had two cars ready like back in the day because I'd be fine going back out there right now."

Herta passed concussion testing shortly after the crash, but it took longer for the accelerometry data to be released, which was why it took a day for him to be cleared. Earlier this season, Jack Harvey was initially cleared after a crash in practice for the XPEL 375, but the accelerometry data indicated he needed more extensive testing. He ended up missing the race.

Herta will use a backup car for the 500. He’s coming off of a win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway at the GMR Grand Prix earlier this month. He will maintain his startingposition of 25.

"We'll find out on Sunday (if the new car still reacts the same),” Herta’s Andretti Autosport owner Michael Andretti said Friday. “I don't know, I'm hoping for no changes, but I'd be surprised if there wasn't an effect on it. You hate this, especially when they're out there running together. (On Carb Day), you're just waiting for something like that to happen. It's a bummer."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indy 500: Doctors clear Colton Herta after Friday crash