[WestCoastGal]

Update: Second degree burns over 69% of his body. Staying overnight at hospital.

They say he will be able to race at New Hampshire next Sunday, and knowing him he will be there!!!

[-YYZ-]

"Update: Second degree burns over 69% of his body. Staying overnight at hospital."

If that's correct, I would call it a bit more serious than the orignally reported minor injuries. Very painful at the very least, if not permanently disfiguring or life threatening - although without immediate treatment a person could certainly die from shock from those kind of burns.

[GRRRRR]

This could be bad for Jr. 69% of his body is burned and blistered perhaps...see below. He might not be able to drive with a suit on next weekend? This could be so painful for him that he's going to be on some serious pain meds...? Just think what a bad sunburn feels like and THAT's only first degree...yeeeowch!


Second Degree Burns

Second-degree burns affect both the outer-layer (epidermis) and the under lying layer of skin (dermis) causing redness, pain, swelling and blisters. These burns often affect sweat glands, and hair follicles.
If a deep second-degree burn is not properly treated, swelling and decreased blood flow in the tissue can result in the burn becoming a third-degree burn.

Symptoms

Redness
Swelling
Pain
Peeling skin
Shock (pale, clammy skin, weakness, bluish lips and finger nails)
White or charred skin

[GOPrincess]

69%??! Wow. I can't imagine he'd be able to suit up and race next week, especially as hot as it can get in a car. Even "moderate" burns have got to be pretty painful for quite a while. I'm very concerned about him but glad that so far the reports, other than that number itself, are sounding positive.

[Wolfstar]

Don't know where the 69% over his body came from. This is not stated in any news report or during the updates while the Sonoma race was being televised. Following is the most recent AP news report, which was posed on the Boston Herald website at about 2:30pm Pacific time.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. burned after crash
By Associated Press
Sunday, July 18, 2004

A fun weekend of racing for Dale Earnhardt Jr. turned frightening Sunday when a wreck during a warmup for an American Le Mans Series race turned his car into a fireball, leaving him hospitalized with burns on his face and legs.

Earnhardt's injuries were "moderate-sized burns of moderate intensity," according to medical officials at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. The ALMS said Earnhardt had second-degree burns on the insides of both legs and on his chin.

The NASCAR star, son of the late Dale Earnhardt, was flown to the University of California-Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, where he was expected to be kept overnight for observation. He will be examined again Monday.

"I'm bummed out and disappointed I couldn't run the race," Earnhardt said through a team spokesman.

Steve Crisp, a spokesman for Dale Earnhardt Inc., said Earnhardt was not badly injured. "They've done the X-rays and there's no bones broken," Crisp said. "He'll be fine.

Still, any crash involving Earnhardt always brings up memories of the last-lap wreck at the 2001 Daytona 500 that killed his father, easily the most popular driver of his era.

Crisp said the younger Earnhardt will compete in next weekend's Nextel Cup race at New Hampshire International Speedway. Earnhardt, second in the Cup standings behind Jimmie Johnson, was supposed to be enjoying a weekend off from his regular series for a rare chance to race without pressure. "These folks are tough," Crisp said. "They bounce back from all kinds of things."

The accident came at the start of the 30-minute morning practice. Earnhardt lost control of his Chevrolet Corvette C5-R, spun and slid backward into a concrete barrier in turn eight of the road racing track.

Officials said the crash broke the fuel filler neck, where the gas is poured into the car, briefly turning the Corvette into a fireball after it came to a stop in the middle of the track. Earnhardt quickly got out of the car on his own before being assisted by safety crews. The car continued to burn and was a total loss.

Earnhardt was to have driven in Sunday's ALMS race with veteran road racing driver Boris Said. The team withdrew the entry from the race after Earnhardt's crash.

Earnhardt has been hurt before in a race car. He sustained a concussion in a crash at California Speedway early in the 2002 season and hid it from NASCAR for five months, afraid it might keep him from racing.

It led to a poor season for Earnhardt and eventually to a new policy by NASCAR forcing drivers with head injuries to get medical clearance before returning to competition.

[Lori675]

Were they minor burns? Looking at that crash. I doubt that.