It was quite the day at the races for Indy 500 attendee Robin Matthews. Not only did the Indianapolis resident get to witness one of the most dramatic finishes in the race's history, she also got a souvenir: a huge dent in her car's front left bumper.
Matthews' car was on the receiving end of serious contact from Kyle Kirkwood — or, rather, the left rear tire of Kyle Kirkwood's No. 27 car.
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Kirkwood's car had gotten collected in a wreck involving Felix Rosenqvist's car. The wheel was torn off and sent hurtling across the sky. It evaded the safety fence and catapulted toward the Turn 2 grandstand. Ultimately, the tire landed in the parking lot, striking Matthews' car and a golf cart before coming to a stop. The wreck brought out a red flag, one of three that were waved during a frantic finish to the 107th running of the famous race at the Brickyard.
Here’s where that flying tire impacted in turn 2
— Andrew Kossack (@AndrewKossack) May 28, 2023
@IMS #indy500 pic.twitter.com/MLexGcUu5q
It made for a scary sight, but the incident proved far less catastrophic than it looked; no injuries were reported from the tire landing, while one fan was taken to the infield care center due to fallen debris. They were eventually released.
Although Matthews was relatively calm about the situation, the Roger Penske-owned racetrack made sure to take care of her.
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Matthews was brought to the track and allowed to kiss its iconic red-brick finish line. In the process, she etched her name into race history, becoming one of the few non-racers to share a warm embrace with the cobblestone.
This is Robin Matthews of Indy. Her white Chevy Cruze she calls “snowball” was the car hit by the wheel that flew over the fence in a crash at #Indy500. The car had to be towed. @IMS President @jdouglas4 brought her to the yard of bricks & getting her a ride home. #TrackTeam13 pic.twitter.com/Ba4GN8w4bP
— Rich Nye (@RichNye13) May 28, 2023
When she was told that it was her car that had suffered the damage, Matthews was understandably suspicious.
"I didn't see it come down," she told the Indianapolis Star. "I came down and they said 'Robin, it’s your car!' I thought, 'No.' I thought somebody was pranking me."
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Still, she took everything in stride. Matthews' car — a white Chevy Cruze — was towed off the site. International Motor Speedway president J. Douglas Boles paid for her ride back home.
"It's fine," Matthews said. "It's just a vehicle. Something we can replace."