WIll Power did not suffer concussion before St. Pete race
Will Power missed Sunday’s IndyCar season-opening race at St. Petersburg because he was diagnosed with a concussion. However, further tests this week have revealed that Power didn’t suffer a concussion in his practice crash Friday before the race.
Power, who won the pole on Saturday, was replaced by Oriol Servia for the race after he was suffering nausea and other symptoms over the weekend. IndyCar announced during the race that Power had been diagnosed with a mild concussion. Instead, tests have shown that the symptoms Power showed over the weekend were possibly because of an inner ear infection he was already dealing with.
“The doctors at the University of Miami concluded Power’s symptoms were not the result of a concussion, and may have been related to a lingering inner-ear infection for which he was being treated,” safety consultant Dr. Terry Trammell said in a statement. “There is no evidence that he sustained a concussion in the crash on Friday, which is consistent with his ear accelerometer data and the mandatory screening evaluation conducted after his crash.”
The ear accelerometer data and the first screening initially ruled out that Power had suffered a concussion. He passed the first screening test and the sanctioning body said the data didn’t raise the possibility Power suffered head trauma that could indicate a concussion.
“Given the nature of his inner-ear infection, it would have been extremely difficult for Will to pass the SCAT, which is what ultimately led to the concussion diagnosis,” Dr. Trammell said. “At the University of Miami they conducted a week’s worth of testing in one day and Will was seen by multiple physicians. The doctors concluded definitively that Will had not sustained recent head trauma.”
The race was won by Power’s teammate Juan Pablo Montoya.
Power is cleared to race at Phoenix on April 2 and his absence at St. Pete is another circumstance that shows just how tricky concussions and head injuries are. IndyCar and its medical team made the best decision that it could have based off the tools and methods known to them. It just ended up being incorrect.
Is it fair to Power that he missed a race and may end up missing out on the 2016 championship as a result? No. But it’s not fair to him if he did suffer a concussion and IndyCar let him race with it either. Safety first is a cliche, but it’s also the truth.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
