INDIANAPOLIS — For the second time in less than a month, an IndyCar session had to be stopped due to a foreign object on the track.
During the April 28 race at Barber Motorsports Park, a mannequin named "Georgina" fell from its spot under a pedestrian overpass and onto the racing surface. "Georgina" didn't cause a full-course caution during April's race, but during Friday's Indianapolis 500 practice session, a snake found its way onto the racing surface.
Professional photographer Chad Smith gave 13News permission to use his photo of Christian Rasmussen's No. 33 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet cornering through Turn 1 just as the snake can be seen near his left front tire.
You can see in Smith's photo the snake slithered its way out into the lower groove of Turn 1 before being run over by Rasmussen's car at nearly 240 mph.
Several other drivers claimed to have encountered the snake on the track during practice.
Alexander Rossi told the NBC broadcast that his first attempt at a qualifying simulation had to be aborted due to Rossi running over the snake.
"At first, I thought it was a driveshaft," Rossi said. "It was kinda sketchy actually because I didn't know what it was, but when I hit it, nothing bad happened, but then they threw the yellow.
Rossi and Rasmussen weren't the only ones to be seen hitting the snake. Scott McLaughlin's No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet was seen on camera also flattening the snake.
According to the broadcast on Peacock, former IndyCar driver and current analyst James Hinchcliffe confirmed that the snake was deceased. IndyCar stopped practice to remove the snake's body from the track.