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Indianapolis 500 fan whose car was struck by flying tire is being given a new car by Penske

Robin Matthews is getting a new ride.

The race fan's car was damaged Sunday at the Indianapolis 500 won by Josef Newgarden. A collision with Felix Rosenqvist caused the back left tire on Kyle Kirkwood's car to separate, fly off the track and sail over the grandstands into the adjacent parking lot.

Nobody sustained major injuries in the incident, including Kirkwood, whose car landed upside down after the crash. Matthews' Chevrolet Cruze took the brunt of the damage in the parking lot when Kirkwood's tire hit it.

The car was hit by the tire on the front left side. It was towed from the track with the plan to have repair work done. On Wednesday, she learned that she'll be getting a new one.

An Indianapolis Motor Speedway spokesperson told the Indianapolis Star that Penske Entertainment intends to provide Matthews with a new car. Penske owns the track and the IndyCar series. What kind of car Matthews will get wasn't immediately clear.

Mathews appeared to take it all in stride Sunday. She told WRTV that her "stomach dropped" when she initially heard the news, but didn't seem too concerned about the damage to her car, which she calls "Snowball."

Indianapolis race tires. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
Indianapolis race tires. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

"I didn’t see it come down," Mathews told the Star. "I came down and they said, ‘Robin, it’s your car!’ I thought, ‘No.’ I thought somebody was pranking me.

"It’s a car. It’s fine."

She was just glad there were no injuries.

"I'm just thankful nobody got hurt," she said. "That would've really done some serious damage to people if it had hit them."

After the race, Matthews was invited to visit the track's famous brickyard that marks the start/finish line.

She also got a ride home. Soon, she'll have a new car of her own.

Roger Penske, who owns Penske Entertainment, told the Star on Sunday that IndyCar was investigating the incident.

"It's very concerning," Penske said, "We have tethers on the wheels. I know it was a rear wheel that came off, and I'm sure that the guys at IndyCar will look at it, will determine what really happened. We haven't seen a wheel come off in a long time."

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