Power cleared to drive
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Will Power, injured in the 15-car accident that killed Dan Wheldon in the IndyCar season finale, has received medical clearance to get back in a race car and will test the new ride next week.
He will drive for two days at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama.
"I'm really looking forward to getting back in the car," Power said Wednesday. "I actually haven't had any pain in my back in the last couple of weeks and I am excited to continue testing the new Chevy IndyCar."
Power has been sidelined since suffering two compression fractures in his thoracic vertebrae in the Oct. 16 finale at Las Vegas. Wheldon, a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, was killed in the crash.
It's the second time Power has broken his back in an IndyCar accident, and the Penske Racing driver has grown increasingly vocal about safety improvements.
He wrote in a column for AutoWeek that pack racing is "just too dangerous" in IndyCar. He also called his accident at Las Vegas "frightening" because his car went airborne and toward the catchfence.
Power has tested the 2012 IndyCar before, and he's had success at Barber: He won from the pole there in April, and finished fourth in the inaugural 2010 event.
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