Park adamant he’ll return
By Marty Smith, Turner Sports Interactive
January 19, 2002
6:07 PM EST (2307 GMT)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Advice to anyone standing in Steve Park’s path back to the Winston Cup Series:
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Steve Park signs autographs at the Winston Cup Preview.
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Get ready for the fight of your life.
Park made his first appearance before the national motorsports media in more than four months Saturday at the T. Wayne Robertson Winston Cup preview, and made it abundantly clear that he holds fast to aspirations of making a return to the pinnacle of motorsports.
Donning glasses, Park, injured Sept. 2 in a freak caution-lap accident at Darlington Raceway, was coherent and optimistic -- not to mention adamant -- that he would return in due time. Despite a slight hint of slurred speech, he appears to have responded quite well to a rigorous rehabilitation schedule.
“I’m ready to get back in a racecar,” said Park, grinning all the while. “Obviously the glasses have helped. Up close (my vision) is 20-17, but far away it’s just a little foggy. So, to answer all questions on when I’m gonna get back in the Pennzoil car, it’ll be a matter of waiting for the vision to clear up. It might be Daytona, which is a month away, or it might be two months away. Who knows?”
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Until Park returns, Kenny Wallace will be in the No. 1 Chevrolet.
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No one knows at this point, which is obviously frustrating for Park. He said Saturday his rehabilitation is now virtually over, down from some four hours per day to one hour per week. It’s been the most grueling, frustrating period of the two-time Winston Cup race winner’s life.
“It’s been tough,” he said. “It’s hard to sit out and not do what you love to do and watch someone else get in your car. No doctor can put their fingertip on when you’ll heal. They’ve told me four to six months, so it still falls in that four to six month guideline. Even though Daytona’s not out of the question, I’m gonna wait ‘til I heal up. I left a winner and I want to come back a winner. That’s the bottom line.”
Park said some 95 percent of his vision has been restored. He actually tested a Legends car at Charlotte earlier this week. The test was quite successful, so much so that Park said he should be back testing the Pennzoil Chevrolet within two weeks.
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Park has had 95 percent of his vision restored since his September accident.
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“They asked me, can you focus, do you have good depth perception?” Park said. “It was great. The test went well. You don’t know what to expect when you get back in a car. With Paul Andrews and the doctors being there, I had the confidence to be there.
“We turned laps within a tenth of a second of the fast lap. So that showed Paul that I was back and ready to get back in the Pennzoil car in a couple weeks. That was the best thing in the last four and a half months that’s (happened to me).”
Park wouldn’t say exactly where or when he plans to test his Winston Cup machine, but did say why.
“It’ll be at a racetrack that will sort things out,” he said. “It’s a test for me to go feel out the Pennzoil car, to see if I’m ready to get back in a car again. It’s a test to test Steve Park.”
Clarification: it’s a test to get a read of Steve Park’s recovery. Park has been tested like at no other time in his life over the past four months. He’s ready for a comeback.
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Park is optimistic that he will return to racing in due time.
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“I talk to the doctors every day and they’re not concerned about me being reinjured in a racecar,” Park said. “Football players have concussions on top of concussions and go back week after week. That’s dangerous. We sat out a few months. I know for a fact you can come back from an injury like this and win. That’s what I wanna do.
“I think to come back you’ve got to run fast laps, prove to your crew chief and doctors that you’re capable, and not putting anyone else in danger. I haven’t sat back. I’ve gone the gym every day of the week. I’m ready to get back. I’m really looking forward to that day.”
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