Brack's Long Way Back To Scene of Best Triumph

INDIANAPOLIS, May 28 -- Those who witnessed the wreck will never forget it. The man who was behind the wheel doesn't remember much of what transpired in the closing laps on that cool, gray October afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway almost two years ago.

Kenny Brack's car went airborne at 220 mph and smashed into the chain-link catch fence. The impact reduced his car to a smoldering, unrecognizable hunk of twisted metal and splintered carbon fiber.

Fans covered their eyes. Track officials turned away from the monitors. Everyone braced for the worst.

Brack had survived, but barely.

Nineteen months and eight major surgeries later, the 39-year-old Swede will make his return to IndyCar racing on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the place of his greatest triumph. Brack secured his place in racing history by winning the 1999 Indianapolis 500.

Ironically, Brack is driving the No. 15 Rahal Letterman Honda of injured teammate and last year's winner, Buddy Rice -- the same driver who replaced Brack after his horrific crash.

"I don't think a Hollywood film producer could have come up with a better script," Brack said recently. "It's a little strange."

Some might say it's strange for Brack to want to race again. Those who know drivers' way of thinking, however, aren't surprised. Racers have the remarkable ability to put near-death experiences out of their mind.

"I don't dwell on things too much," Brack said.

Questions about Brack's physical health were answered during qualifying last week when he posted the fastest time of any of the 33 cars in the field. But because he did not qualify on pole day, he will start on Row 8.

Brack's pace has made him one of the favorites to win, but his outlook hasn't always been so promising. His recovery was a difficult one, marked by breakthroughs, setbacks and second thoughts.

"I don't know how many surgeries I had or how many screws I have or how many stitches I have," Brack said. "I have them. I have some screws I should take out, but it's about getting the time to take them out."

Brack was lucky, all things considered.

His racecar was traveling 220 mph when it bumped tires with Tomas Scheckter's car at the 2003 Texas race. Brack's launched several feet into the air before it was grabbed by the catch fence. Only the car's tub remained intact as it spun like a top down the track.

Brack suffered a fractured right femur, a fractured sternum, a fractured vertebrae and breaks to both ankles. One month after the crash, he developed a nearly fatal blood clot in his lung. Brack was on his back for nearly two months.

"It's been hard to get back into physical shape," he said. "When I got out of the hospital, I weighed 120 pounds. I was skin and bones, basically. Plus all of the injuries. So, yes, it was a hard period. But I'm through it now."

Brack didn't hesitate to accept team owner Bobby Rahal's invitation to replace Rice after Rice suffered a concussion and strained neck ligaments on the second day of practice earlier this month.

Rahal said the day Brack's return was announced: "Kenny is all business, always has been and always will be. I know if he wasn't ready for this, he wouldn't be here."

Brack's comeback has been overshadowed this weekend by 23-year-old rookie Danica Patrick. She could make history by becoming the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500.

The Rahal teammates have two of the fastest cars in the field. It's widely considered one of the deepest in the race's history.

The other favorites are: pole sitter Tony Kanaan and Andretti Green Racing teammate Dan Wheldon, the IRL's points leader with three race victories this season.

And any discussion of Indy front runners isn't complete without mentioning Team Penske drivers Helio Castroneves (the 2001 and 2002 500 winner) and Sam Hornish Jr. (2001 and 2002 series champion).

A victory at Indy is a career changing moment. For Brack, a second win might be enough to persuade him to make a full-time comeback in IndyCars.

"I haven't been dead set on making a comeback, I haven't been dead set on retiring," Brack said. "I've been dead set on working my way back to the best possible physical condition I can. If that's going to be good enough for a comeback, then I'll do one. If it's not, then we won't. Time will tell if that's possible."