Kahne seeks medical clearance to test at LMS
By David Newton, NASCAR.COM
May 2, 2006
09:09 PM EDT (01:09 GMT)
CONCORD, N.C. -- Kasey Kahne asked emergency caregivers for a minute to catch his breath after being involved in a multi-car wreck on Lap 9 of Monday's Nextel Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway.
They gave him the rest of the day.
And Tuesday as well.
Kahne must receive medical clearance for a possible concussion before being allowed to test at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Wednesday and defend his title at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday night.
Kahne, who was not allowed to participate in tests at LMS on Tuesday, doesn't anticipate a problem.
"I'm meeting with Dr. [Jerry] Petty in the morning and I talked to him [Tuesday] morning,'' Kahne said. "Everything sounds good and I just need to get cleared before I can test.''
Kahne believes he was healthy enough to have gotten back in his car at Talladega instead of being replaced by Hermie Sadler, who finished 39th.
"I got hit and it knocked the wind out of me, and I was just sitting there and just asked them to give me a minute,'' Kahne said. "I put the window net down and everything and said, 'Hey, just give me a minute.'
"They thought that something was wrong because I asked for that minute, and it was just trying to catch my breath and get out of the car. It wasn't that big of a deal.''
The doctor that must clear Kahne is the same doctor that cleared Dale Earnhardt Jr. to race after Earnhardt received a "minor'' concussion at Dover in 2003.
NASCAR implemented the policy for written medical clearance after Earnhardt admitted in 2002 that he drove several races with lingering effects of a concussion.
CART and IRL use the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's ImPACT [Immediate Post-concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing] program before clearing a driver of a head injury.
Jeff Burton, who tested at LMS, doesn't believe NASCAR needs more stringent testing for concussions as other sports do.
The NFL, for example, typically requires seven days to recover from a mild concussion where there are symptoms such as headaches or dizziness.
"NASCAR does need to step in when they deem it necessary to enforce someone not running if it's not in their best interest or the competitor's interest,'' Burton said.
"Because health is such a varied thing, I don't know how you'd have a standard policy.''
Burton said every driver has driven with a concussion at some point.
"I can tell you I've watched people with concussions that I'm like, 'Man, there's no way [he should drive],'" Burton said. "I won't mention his name, but I was in the care center with this guy one day and he was like lu-lu crazy. Two hours later, he was perfectly fine. I think he won the next week.''
Burton said on-site emergency workers typically determine whether a driver has a concussion by asking simple questions.
"I was asked who the president was one time,'' he said. "In a joking way I gave them the wrong answer. That got me to the emergency room, and it wasn't so damn funny anymore.''
Kahne seeks medical clearance to test at LMS
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