#36-Hank Parker Jr. suffered a sprained left shoulder during Saturday’s Little Trees 300 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The injury occurred during a restart around lap 99 of the 200-lap event. As the field came to the green flag, it appeared that a competitor might have missed a shift, causing his car to drastically slow down. Those drivers directly behind the competitor were unable to check up in time, setting off a multi-car accident that Parker was unable to avoid. Parker hit another car in the side, causing the steering wheel on his #36 GNC Live Well Dodge Intrepid to jerk violently. Parker’s left hand slipped and got caught in one of the spokes of the wheel as it came around. The motion dislocated Parker’s left shoulder, leaving him unable to shut off the motor on his wounded race machine. After being examined and released from the infield care center, Parker was driven by private vehicle to nearby University Hospital. X-Rays taken at the hospital showed no damage to the shoulder, and Parker was diagnosed with a shoulder sprain. The driver was outfitted with an arm sling and released. He will be reevaluated by an orthopedic doctor on Monday afternoon. “I plan on racing at Memphis,” Parker said after his release from the hospital. “The doctor said I’ll be sore for awhile, just because I probably pulled the muscles around my shoulder in the accident. We’ll know more on Monday, but right now, I have every intention of being behind the wheel next weekend.”(Keystone Marketing PR)(10-14-2002)
