Davey Hamilton Texas test preview

DAVEY HAMILTON RETURNS TO TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY FOR FIRST TIME SINCE HARROWING CRASH IN 2001 NEARLY ENDED HIS CAREER

The last time Davey Hamilton was at Texas Motor Speedway as a competitive driver in the IZOD IndyCar Series he was being airlifted to Parkland Hospital after a high-speed crash coming off turn two nearly severed both his feet - that was June of 2001.

Now nine years later, Hamilton returns to Texas Motor Speedway using a Friday test session to prepare for the 94th running of the Indianapolis 500. The 47-year-old Hamilton underwent nearly two-dozen surgeries to repair his damaged feet and now shows no outward signs of his injuries.

Hamilton will be driving a car fielded by Luczo Dragon / de Ferran Motorsports in partnership with Houston-based Kingdom Racing as he looks to earn a starting spot in the Indianapolis 500 for the 10th time in his career. He will make three starts for the team in 2010, including the Firestone 550 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 5.

Prior to his breath taking crash on June 9, 2001, Hamilton had posted four top 10 finishes at Texas Motor Speedway, including a career-best second place run in the 1999 season finale.

Davey Hamilton's comeback story would make a great feature for a sports, medical, religion or positive-attitude segments.

Davey Hamilton:

"I'm feeling a little anxious I guess," said IndyCar driver Davey Hamilton about his upcoming test at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday. "My last memories of racing here are trying to survive."

"I always did like Texas and had some good finishes there'" said Hamilton. "The track didn't cause my accident. It could have happened anywhere. I may be nervous the first couple of laps, but then it will be back to business and off we go."

-source: ld/dfm