Motorsports

Indy champ out of hospital

By wire services
Published May 13, 2005

INDIANAPOLIS - Defending Indy 500 winner Buddy Rice was released from a hospital Thursday and plans to resume practice next week.

Rice was hospitalized overnight with a severe bruise to his back and a concussion from a crash just 16 minutes into practice Wednesday.

A decision on whether to allow Rice to drive won't be made until next week, denying him a chance to start from the pole for the second straight year or qualify this weekend for the May 29 race.

Until he is cleared, Rice will help teammates Vitor Meira and rookie Danica Patrick, who were among the fastest drivers in practice Thursday. Patrick, trying to become the fourth woman to race at Indy, had the fastest speed among 37 cars on the track, turning a top lap of 227.633 mph.

NASCAR FAME: Backers of a bid to win the NASCAR Hall of Fame for Kansas City, Kan., home of the Kansas Speedway, said they represent the sport's future and NASCAR's best chance to reach beyond its traditional fan base in the South. Other candidate sites, asked to submit proposals by May 31, are Daytona Beach; Atlanta; Richmond, Va.; and Charlotte, N.C. The state Legislature last week rejected a statewide sports appropriation that would have help finance Daytona's effort.

STEWART STAYS: Jackie Stewart, Britain's most successful Formula One driver, survived a vote to oust him as a director of the British Racing Drivers' Club, which owns the track that hosts the British Grand Prix.

[Last modified May 13, 2005, 00:57:16]