Will Power finished second behind Alexander Rossi at Pocono Raceway in a race marred by a violent wreck that sent IndyCar rookie driver Robert Wickens to the hospital.

Wickens was awake and alert when he was airlifted off the track for medical treatment. IndyCar did not have another update on the Canadian driver’s condition at the end of the race.

The 29-year-old Wickens was attempting to pass Ryan Hunter-Reay when the two cars slightly touched just six laps into the race.

That caused Hunter-Reay’s car to careen into the wall and Wickens’ car was pulled along for the ride.

Once Wickens’ car soared over Hunter-Reay’s and hit the fence, it spun round and round like a top.

The fencing was shredded and Wickens’ car reduced to just the tub, which came to a rest on the track along an interior wall.

Medical workers calmly attended to Wickens, who was taken to an ambulance before he was transported to the helicopter.

The impact of the wreck tore out about 80 feet of fence, damaged a few posts and stopped the race.

After a nearly two-hour delay, the race resumed without the spate of aggressive driving and ended without further incident.

For Rossi, his thoughts were with Wickens.

“It’s tough to really celebrate after what happened,” he said.

Rossi, the 2016 Indianapolis 500 champion, ended Australian Power’s bid to win three straight Pocono races.

Power made a hard charge down the stretch and finished second.

Scott Dixon had his lead trimmed in the championship standings and finished third.

Rossi raced to his third victory of the season for Andretti Autosport.

Sebastien Bourdais, who finished fourth, raised concerns about the quality of the repairs and condition of the fence before he got back in the car.

Track President Ben May said: “It may not be the prettiest job but it’s going to be safe.”

Hunter-Reay, James Hinchcliffe, Pietro Fittipaldi and Takuma Sato were among the drivers collected in Wickens’ crash.

Hinchcliffe grasped his wrists as he slowly left his car. He was cleared and released from the medical centre.

Fittipaldi had just returned from a lengthy layoff because of two broken legs suffered in Europe.

“Thank god I am fine and walking away from that accident. Praying for you (at)robertwickens, I hope you’re ok,” Fittipaldi later tweeted.

It was a chilling moment again at Pocono. Justin Wilson died from a head injury in 2015 when a piece of debris from a crashed car bounced off the track and hit his helmet.