PARALYZED RACER JOHNSON WANTS TO RETURN SOON
Michael Johnson, the paralyzed racer who was released from a St. Petersburg, Fla., hospital Wednesday after more than two weeks following a March 27 crash, told USA TODAY Sports that he wanted to return to racing as soon as possible. Johnson, 22, was paralyzed from the waist down in a motorcycle crash when he was 12. He drives a JDC Motorsports car equipped with hand controls. Johnson reportedly was under observation for fractures to his pelvis and hip after the crash in a Pro Mazda Series race. Pro Mazda is a support series for the Verizon IndyCar Series, which held its season opener on the St. Petersburg street course two days later. Johnson said issues quickly developed with his lungs after the crash. Doctors told him he might have taken a breath before the car hit the wall in Turn 3. Johnson, the first paralyzed driver to be sanctioned by IndyCar, said he doesn’t remember the crash.