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Grin and bear it Three broken bones won't keep Elliott from starting 600Posted: Tuesday May 20, 2003 8:38 PMCONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- Bill Elliott will race in Sunday night's Coca-Cola 600 with a broken left foot. It's up to his crew to figure out how to keep him comfortable through the longest race of the season. Elliott broke the foot Saturday in a six-car accident during NASCAR's all-star race when drivers were scrambling on the last lap of the second segment to advance to the final round. He went to Indianapolis on Tuesday to meet with Dr. Terry Trammell, chief orthopedic consultant for the Champ car series, to be fitted for a carbon fiber foot protector and brace to use when he races. "I've driven with an injury before, but with what we've worked out I think everything will be fine," Elliott said. Elliott was using crutches Monday when he donated $10,000 to the library at his son's school. "I survived 600 kids walking around me yesterday and I was OK, so think I can deal with this inconvenience this weekend," Elliott said. Elliott, 47, broke three bones on the top of his left foot, which operates the clutch and brake, in the accident at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Car owner Ray Evernham said Truck Series driver Ted Musgrave could be used to fill in this weekend if Elliott isn't up to driving. "The number we got on the G meter from NASCAR was 48 Gs, so it was a pretty hard hit," Evernham said. "I’m not sure about the broken foot, whether it was hyperextended. It was not from hitting the brake pedal or anything like that. “He didn’t hit it on anything. Either the force of his foot being on the brake and the shock coming up through it or being over extended ... Where your foot bends when you walk, right in the ball of your foot, what could have happened there, he had his foot on the brake and when he hit the wall it just over extended the tops of his toes and the ball of his foot. It was either that or just the force of his foot being on the brake, but he didn’t hit it on anything.Crew chief Mike Ford said he would adjust the brake pedal to make it softer and easier for Elliott to use. "Our number one objective is to make sure he's comfortable; it wouldn't be very much fun for him if he were in pain and had to endure that all day," Ford said. "I think it says a lot for Bill. He could very easily not want to do it and no hard feelings would be had there. "I'd understand that completely, but he's a professional. His livelihood is driving race cars, and that's what he wants to do." Meanwhile, Evernham said he wouldn't hold his drivers out of all-star events in the future just because Elliott got hurt. But he hoped that adjustments could be made to the format to make the racing safer. "I'd rather say I'll come back but let's look at how we can avoid putting our drivers in danger," Evernham said. "People want to see good racing, but they don't want to see cars banging on the wall and drivers going to the hospital." |
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