Monday, March 24, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
PHOENIX -- Las Vegas resident Sam Schmidt was being held overnight in a Phoenix hospital with a suspected spinal fracture after an accident in Sunday's Indy Racing League Phoenix 200 at Phoenix International Raceway.
Schmidt was running in the top 10 when his car hit the wall in turn three after something appeared to break on the rear end of his race car on lap 179. It took track workers several minutes to extract Schmidt from his mangled car before he was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center.
"Sam is listed in good condition but he will be kept overnight in the hospital while his X-rays are being reviewed," St. Joseph's public relations director Robin Cook said Sunday night. "When he was brought in, he was believed to have a suspected spinal fracture but we won't be able to confirm (the diagnosis) until his X-rays are reviewed in (this) morning."
Schmidt, 29, was making his debut in the upstart IRL after a successful career in the Sports Car Club of America Spec Racer and Formula Continental series, the Hooters Formula Cup pro Series and the U.S. Formula Ford 2000 series.
Despite his rookie status and driving an unsponsored car in Sunday's Phoenix 200, Schmidt qualified seventh in the 22-car field. He was running in seventh place at the time of the accident and had his Blueprint Racing Dallara-Aurora as high as fourth place before losing a lap when he spun while avoiding a crash on lap 51 of the 200-lap race.
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