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| Today, Jonathan Macri, piloting the NTN Bearings Swift, escaped serious injury during practice session at Milwaukee's one-mile oval. With three minutes remaining in the session, Jonathan was caught by surprise by another driver, who was spinning out of control in front of him. "I was exiting corner one", Jonathan said. "Mike Sheridan, my manager radioed me, telling me to go low because a driver in front had spun out high into corner two. I eased off the throttle so as to bring the car low, but as I did this, the weight transferred from the rear of the car to front, unsettling the car and causing the rear to go high into the corner, and into the other driver. It was unavoidable. I really had nowhere to go and at these speeds, when someone is spinning out of control right in front of you, you just hope you get through it all right" On-site medical crew treated both drivers. Fortunately both were all right. Jonathan suffered bruising on the lower part of his left leg, just below his knee. As a result of the crash, Jonathan as well as the other driver could not qualify and will start, therefore, at the back of the grid. "Its unfortunate, Jonathan said. We were really bringing down the time. I was pulling 25:40's, and there were still adjustments we wanted to make." If starting last isn't enough, what about the possibility of Jonathan even making it to the starting grid? Evidently, his NTN car sustained such extensive damage, mainly front-end, that Jonathan's crew is in a mad rush to put it back together again. "It's going to be a tough go for the crew; definitely an all-nighter," Jonathan said. "I just hope we can get the car ready for tomorrow. If we do, I hope the weather is on our side because we really need the morning practice session." And what about the accident and Jonathan's injury? Will it adversely affect, physically and/or psychologically, Jonathan's ability to race all-out? "It's a real concern," Jonathan said. "I can't say for sure until practice tomorrow morning." I was definitely shaken by the accident, but I'm hoping the crash doesn't cause any real hesitation on my part. You can't be afraid to race. If you are, you'll lose. I think my real concern is my knee. It's on ice now, feeling uncomfortable. I only really need it to clutch out of first gear, but it's the pain, and if it will continue during the race tomorrow, that I'm worried about." A tough start for Jonathan in his first appearance at Milwaukee. However, if it's any consolation, assuming that the crew gets the car back to proper performing order, and Jonathan gets back to his true racing form, we'll have the opportunity to see Jonathan joust his way through the field come race day tomorrow at Milwaukee's famed one-mile oval. |
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