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Wright bears brunt of crash with resolve to return Mail Tribune/Jim Craven Don Wright is recuperating at his home on Sardine Creek after he was injured racing his dwarf car at Southern Oregon Speedway last weekend. His 14-year-old son, Randy, right, was working on his pit crew during the accident. By Don Hunt Most race car drivers will instinctively swerve to avoid hitting a fellow driver, even if it puts their own safety at risk. Don Wright followed that perilous path at the Southern Oregon Speedway last Saturday, and spent the next four days in the hospital. The 47-year-old Gold Hill resident fractured three vertebrae, broke his ankle and suffered a nasty knot on his forehead after his dwarf car smashed into the main grandstand wall coming out of turn four. "I�m still sore and can�t move too well, but I�m feeling better," said Wright, who was released from Rogue Valley Medical Center Wednesday morning. Wright lost control of his 1932 Ford coupe on the opening lap of the dwarf car main event after swerving to miss Greg Staten, who had spun out in front of him. Wright hit the wall at nearly full speed, and onlookers said his car flew at least 10 feet into the air before landing on its top and left side. Emergency workers needed nearly 30 minutes to cut open the roof and rescue Wright, who was then hauled off on a stretcher. "I remember hitting the wall and then the ground, and then I blacked out for a second," Wright said. "When I came to, my back was really hurting. "I hit that wall hard. I�m pretty lucky, when you think about it.�� Wright said he could have plowed into Staten, "but my first instinct was to not hurt somebody." "I was headed right for his door," Wright said. "Who knows what would have happened to him had I not swerved to miss him." Wright expects to be bedridden for about two weeks and won�t be able to return to his job as a log scaler in Glendale for 10 weeks. But he holds no grudges and vows to return to the track this season. "The doctors are expecting a full recovery," Wright said. Friends and well-wishers visited his hospital room in droves over the weekend and many racers called to wish him a speedy recovery. "I needed to get home just to rest up," he said with a chuckle. Wright became enthralled with dwarf cars after the diminutive, lightning-quick vehicles began competing at the speedway two years ago. "I fell in love with them," he said. "I bought one and never even drove it first.�� Wright finished fifth in the points race and second in the rookie-of-the-year standings a year ago. He missed the first couple of races this season after installing a new engine, but was hopeful of racking up a few wins and knocking off hot shoes such as John DeBenedetti, John Dentone and current points leader Steve Hix. He may have to alter his expectations just a bit, but more than anything Wright simply wants to get behind the wheel again. "Those dwarf cars are nothing more than a big kid�s toy," he said. "I�ve had a lot of fun out there and I plan on having a lot more." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA