De Silvestro talks Franchitti crash, Houston podium on SportsDash

After a weekend in Houston that saw her earn her first IZOD IndyCar Series podium result but also witness the aftermath of Dario Franchitti’s devastating crash, KV Racing Technology’s Simona de Silvestro visited NBCSN’s SportsDash (See video) with Yahoo! Sports to discuss both of those matters.

Echoing the opinions of several other drivers, De Silvestro said the Franchitti crash reminded her of the infamous accident that killed Dan Wheldon in the 2011 season finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. However, she maintained that INDYCAR is doing all it can to make improvements to the safety of the sport.

“At the end of the day, we’re still racing cars over 200 miles per hour between concrete walls," De Silvestro told SportsDash’s Carolyn Manno and Dave Briggs. “It’ll always be a dangerous sport and we all know it. But I think [the series] always pushes to be better, more safer.

“The cars have become really safe and also, the fencing. There have been a lot of things going on since 2011, so everybody’s really trying to push the boundaries in that department, that’s for sure."

Franchitti will be kept in a Houston hospital for a few more days before he is transported to Indianapolis for additional treatment. The three-time Indy 500 winner suffered a concussion, a fractured right ankle (on which he has had a first surgery to stabilize it), and two fractured vertebra in his back following his hit against the Turn 5 catch fence on the last lap of Sunday’s race.

On a brighter note, De Silvestro said she was pleased with being able to finally land on an IndyCar podium for the first time.

“Now we can keep on going to be even more competitive," she said of herself and her No. 78 team. We want to get more podiums, and I think we can win races."