VIDEO SCARY CRASH TURNS OUT OK TONY KANAAN AND HELIO CASTRONEVES IN BALTIMORE GRAND PRIX

BALTIMORE -- Scares don't normally come at 8:30 a.m., but Tony Kanaan and Helio Castroneves got one Sunday warming up for the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix.
Both drivers were hustling down the front straightaway on their second laps when Kanaan pushed the brake pedal to the floor without response. He saw trouble ahead.
In a split-second, Kanaan thought back to the track walk he took a couple of times over the weekend. A driver always looks for bumps on such surveys of new circuits, but they also look for places to escape dangerous situations.
In Kanaan's opinion, the right side of the run-off area in turn one has fewer tires protecting the concrete wall, so he thought his best chance for survival in an emergency was to go left.
But that's where Castroneves' car was approaching the corner.
"I said, 'I'm not going to hit that,' " he said of the right-side tires, "so I turned into him. It was just quick thinking."
The left side of Kanaan's car drove over the top of Castroneves' right-side tires, launching Kanaan.
The left corner of Kanaan's car grazed the wall -- and nearly a corner worker peeking out for a view -- before tumbling into the tires.
Castroneves barely knew what hit him, but he knew the ride was rough. When his car stopped, he unbuckled his belts, scrambled out of the cockpit and ran to the other driver's aid.
That's when he learned it was his boyhood Brazilian friend.
"To be honest, I'm glad I was there because I made the impact softer," Castroneves said. "It was scary, and I was very, very worried for him."
Said Kanaan: "He saved my life."
Both teams worked through the morning to prepare backup cars, and by Izod IndyCar Series rules they had to start in the back. Kanaan, who apologized to Castroneves, Team Penske owner Roger Penske and team president Tim Cindric, said their car didn't deserve that.
"That's not fair," Kanaan said. "I deserve to go there but not him."
The brake failure was the second of its kind for KV this season. In a practice in Brazil in late April, EJ Viso lost his brakes at the end of the long straightaway. He also escaped injury.
Kanaan said his neck was sore, but he otherwise was not hurt.
"I'm blessed," he said.
He also met with the corner worker who scattered, telling him "you can't do that."

Etc.

Sebastien Bourdais had his first bad finish on a road course since the May 1 race in Brazil. He finished last when his gearbox stuck in third gear early in this race. . . . Newman/Haas Racing is expected to be the next IndyCar team to join Honda's camp for next season. The deal has not yet been signed, however. Honda already has Ganassi Racing (four cars), Sam Schmidt Motorsports (two cars) and A.J. Foyt Racing (one car). . . . Gustavo Yacaman won his first Firestone Indy Lights race, holding off Josef Newgarden. Noblesville's Conor Daly led the first 22 laps from the pole before having suspension failure and making relatively light right front contact.