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INDIANAPOLIS -- Phil Giebler, a late entry with only a handful of laps behind the wheel, was hospitalized Saturday with bruised lungs from a crash during practice for the Indianapolis 500.
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The Speedway's medical staff said he was awake and alert and would remain overnight at Methodist Hospital.
In separate crashes, rookies Hideki Mutoh and Mario Dominguez and veteran Max Papis hit the wall but were not hurt. They were taken to the infield hospital for routine exams and were released and cleared to drive.
Giebler was the Indy 500 rookie of the year last year. He didn't have a ride this year until this week, when a deal developed with American Dream Motorsports. He got on the track for the first time Saturday morning, then managed a top lap of just more than 218 mph in practice before hitting the wall in the second turn.
The 28-year-old Californian started last and finished 29th as a rookie last year.
Mutoh, at 223.887 mph the fastest rookie qualifier, also hit the wall in the second turn shortly before Giebler's crash. Runner-up in the developmental Indy Lights series last year, the 25-year-old Japanese driver joined Andretti Green Racing this season after last year's Indy 500 and IRL champion Dario Franchitti left for NASCAR.
Dominguez, a 32-year-old Mexican, went low going into the first turn and slid into the outside wall with the right side of his car with about 15 minutes left in practice Saturday morning before qualifications. Then, just as the checkered flag was being waved to end practice, Papis went hard into the wall in the third turn.
Dominguez, the Champ Car rookie of the year in 2002, drove six seasons in that series and was third in his only previous start this season at Long Beach, Calif. Papis, a 38-year-old Italian, drove in two previous Indy 500s, with a best finish of 14th in 2006.
