OCTOBER 14, 2003

Kenny Brack's accident

The Indy Racing League was given a reminder at the weekend that no form of high-speed open-wheler can be 100% safe with Sweden's Kenny Brack being seriously hurt in a spectacular accident with Tomas Scheckter just a few laps from the finish of the Chevy 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Brack (37) is in a serious but stable condition at the Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas after suffering multiple injuries when his car was launched over Scheckter's in Turn 3 at Texas.

Brack, the 1988 IRL Champion and the winner of the 1999 Indianapolis 500 could do nothing as his car hit the 12ft high debris fencing, strengthened with horizontal steel cables. The impact was such that a section of the fence was torn away by the flying car, which disintegrated, the monocoque being thrown back on to the race track where it ending up spinning down the track on its side. Medical crews were quickly on the scene and Brack was stabilized and then taken to the circuit medical center from where he was flown to the Parkland Memorial Hospital where he underwent surgery on Sunday night performed by orthopedic trauma specialist Dr. Charles Reinert and Dr. Brian Eastridge of the University of Texas Medical Center. Brack's injuries include two broken ankles, a fractured right thigh, a fractured sternum and a fractured lower back.