The news that no one supporting the Lazier Partners Racing Wynn Institute racecar at the Indianapolis 500 wanted to hear was confirmed on Twitter about halfway through the race.
“The clutch issue is terminal.”
Buddy Lazier’s car wouldn’t be returning to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway track.
To see a related Q&A with Lazier during the Indianapolis 500 Media Day, see Wynn Institute takes center stage at Indy 500.
Lazier ran 87 laps before a clutch issue forced his car back to the garage for the rest of the race. Throughout the week Lazier had praised his car, saying it had the ability to run near the top of the pack. Lazier was succeeding in executing his race plan before the issue, and was confident his car could have done more.
Despite the finish, the 1996 Indy 500 champion was positive about the future after the race.
“It’s good progress that our team can run with the best of them,” Lazier said after the race. “We are a new, young team that’s poised for growth.”
That positive attitude is the exact reason why Lazier is a perfect person to represent the Wynn Institute for Vision Research at the University of Iowa.
The Wynn Institute provides hope to patients and families dealing with eye diseases. Lazier knows that feeling of hope firsthand, as his 12-year old daughter Jacqueline suffers from a rare eye disease called aniridia, which is characterized by a complete or partial absence of the colored part of the eye.
Aniridia can cause reduction in visual acuity and increased sensitivity to light. This disease, combined with glaucoma, has caused Jacqueline to lose vision in her right eye.
