French driver Sebastien Bourdais will have surgery on a fractured pelvis suffered in a crash during Indianapolis 500 qualifying.
Track officials said doctors at Indiana University Methodist Hospital reported that Bourdais has multiple fractures in his pelvis and a fractured right hip.
Team owner Dale Coyne said in a statement that Bourdais is "in good hands" at the hospital and that the team must wait for him to recover.
He was injured when his car wiggled in the second turn, slid up the track and slammed head-on into the second turn wall.
The car then flipped over, with flames and smoke billowing out, before skidding to a stop in the back straightaway.
Safety team members spent about 10 minutes getting Bourdais out of the car before putting him on a stretcher.
Track officials said he was awake and alert when he was transported by ambulance to the hospital.
They said he never lost consciousness.
Bourdais had just completed two laps over 231 mph - the fastest laps of the day - when the car started to spin.
He won the season-opening race at St. Petersburg, Florida, and had the fastest time in Friday's practice.
Meanwhile, Australian driver Will Power has qualified sixth for Sunday's nine-car pole shootout with a four-lap average of 230.072mph.
Two-time pole winner Ed Carpenter had the fastest car in qualifying.
He finished just ahead of Takuma Sato and 2008 race winner Scott Dixon, while two-time Formula One champ Fernando Alonso was seventh.
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