Broken wrist isn’t expected to keep CART driver Carpentier on sidelines

Tuesday, April 10, 2001 | 9:35 a.m.

Championship Auto Racing Teams driver Patrick Carpentier of Las Vegas is not expected to miss any races despite fracturing his left wrist in an accident during Sunday's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Carpentier sustained a bone-chip fracture when he made contact with Max Papis' car on lap 54 of the 82-lap race on the streets of Long Beach, Calif.

Carpentier broke the same wrist last year in an off-track accident in Las Vegas and was forced to sit out three races. The injury he incurred Sunday, however, was not to the same bone and is not as severe as the fracture last year.

"It appears to be much less serious than last year's fracture," said Dr. Steve Olvey, CART's director of medical affairs.

Carpentier flew to Indianapolis immediately after the race and was scheduled to be examined today by Dr. Terry Trammell, chief orthopedic consultant for CART.

A spokeswoman for Player's/Forsythe Racing said Carpentier is confident he will be able to drive in the series' next race, the Firestone Firehawk 600 on April 29 at Texas Motor Speedway.

The incident involving Carpentier occurred as Max Papis emerged from a pit stop and Carpentier ran into the back of Papis' car.

"I was convinced that he was in some kind of trouble, so I went to pass him on the inside," Carpentier said following the incident. "That's when he cut me off. I tried to avoid him but I hit the speed bump and that launched me into the air and into the back of Max's car.

"I caught my hand on the steering wheel on contact, and when the car landed, the wheel spun around. I'm not at all happy with what Max did. Actually, I'm very upset about it."

A two-year resident of Las Vegas, Carpentier is a native of Ville Lasalle, Quebec, and has been competing in CART since 1997. He is in his fourth season driving for Player's/Forsythe Racing.

His best season in CART came in 1999 when he posted eight top-10 finishes in 19 starts. Last season, despite missing three races, Carpentier finished a career-high 11th in the final points standings.