The two-time Indianapolis 500 runner-up broke two bones in his back in a crash with rookie Raphael Matos on lap 174 during last month’s 500. The initial non-surgical recovery prognosis was four to six months, but Meira is leaning toward the four-month timetable. He wants to race in the Oct. 10 series finale at Homestead, Fla., near his Miami home.
“I will be back by the end of this year,” he said this week, “unless the doctor says it’s a real stupid idea.”
The worst part of rehab, he said, is strapping on a restrictive back brace that extends from just below his waist to his armpits. He has to wear it for at least two more months.
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Matos visited Meira in the hospital and there are apparently no hard feelings about the crash. Neither has publicly blamed the other. Says Meira: “Both of us felt bad.”
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