Michael Okay... And That's What Matters

      Some people might say the title above isn't true, and that after this weekend's event, other things do matter right now.  However, after Saturday night, to the family and friends of Michael Hale, nothing else matters except for the fact that Michael is okay and getting better.  For anyone at Rocky Mountain Raceways last Saturday, you probably know what I'm talking about.  For anyone even remotely close to Michael Hale, or Hale Racing, you also know what I'm talking about.  For those that do not, I'm sure these few pictures will help fill you in.

      Michael Hale has taken some pretty hard hits in his time behind the wheel of a racecar.  However, none can quite match up to this one.  "I'd say that I've taken harder hits than this, but since I can't remember this one, it must be the worst," said Michael during his short visit at the hospital.  Although Michael would tell you it was like an eternity, he was indeed hospitalized late Saturday night after the accident up until Sunday afternoon at approximately 5:00 p.m... Almost a 24 hour stay.

      I could go through the entire event leading up to the accident, but let's face it, the main reason everyone is here is for an update on Michael's status, and video of the accident.  You can access the video by clicking the photo to the left.  Please be aware the video isn't perfect, and their are fans standing up ahead that sort of block the view of exactly how hard Michael hits the wall... but you should get the idea.  The photo to the left isn't the greatest of quality being as I captured it from a video camera, but as you can see, Michael is almost completely sideways.  Nobody, and I mean nobody is completely sure exactly what happened to cause this accident.  Michael was unconscious for approximately 2.5 minutes and as he said above, he does not remember what happened.  There are mixed opinions related to the steering box, something breaking on the car, or the possibility that the car's tires just grabbed at the wrong moment, causing the vehicle to basically push its way into whatever direction it pleased... or in this case: the direction of which it was positioned.

      According to the video it looks as if Michael is attempting an "Over-Under" pass on Todd Ellison (white car just ahead of Michael).  Just as Michael exits turn 4, the car makes a hard right, and slides out of control.  Bryan Wordelman (the blue #7 just behind Michael) has no where to go and runs into the right-rear of Michaels racecar as it spins around, this forces the driver's side to basically swing around and slam hard into the wall at an incredible force.  It was one of the most frightening moments of my life, and I'm sure many others close to Michael.  At first you think it's just an accident, that Michael is okay, the car is hurt and the night is probably over.  But after a few minutes go by, and the the safety team working away to get him out of the car, you realize the accident doesn't matter.  The friend, the family member, the human being behind the wheel is what matters.  Air Med was flown in to transport Michael to the University of Utah Hospital, and I guarantee there were a select few in vehicles that only wished their car moved as fast as the helicopter above.

      I'd like to keep this update as short as possible as it's very hard to write about such a thing like this.  I, like many others who've only missed a few of Michael's races, have witnessed him in a fair share of incidents.  This one, in my opinion, more than any other, has really made me realize how much you can care about a person without really knowing it.  I think the same eye-opener occurred for many others.  The emotions were extremely high in the stands of Rocky Mountain Raceways.  Fans of Michael gathered together and did all they could to find out his status, and where he was headed.

      Michael suffered a cracked vertebra in his neck and some serious bruising on his left shoulder and down his arm.  He will be wearing a neck brace to help the healing of his neck and a wrap to help support his arm.  We will update his status as soon as possible.

      Some fans reported viewing a news report that stated injuries occurred do to a safety failure in Michael's racecar.  Now it may not be my job to state this, but we want everyone to know that those reports are completely false.  This, like every other numerous racecar that Hale Racing has built, was gone over time and time again for safety.  This car was built to go fast and KEEP MICHAEL SAFE while doing so.  Michael was wearing a Hutchinson device and had his racecar been unsafe, the damage done to him would be far more severe than it is.  It's too bad that the media can take a tragic event and somehow make it slightly worse.

      On a positive note, we at Hale Racing can not thank everyone enough for their support during this event.  Michael had quite a few visitors Sunday during his stay at the hospital.  Even a few, myself included, hung around all through Saturday night, up until 1:00 a.m. Sunday morning, before knowing he was going to be transferred out of the Emergency Center into a hospital room to rest for the night.  The support was incredible.  Monday morning, car and team owner Red Hale received what he estimated to be close to 75 calls concerning Michael's health and status.  We greatly appreciate your concern and hope you realize just how much it means to us at Hale Racing.  We'd also like to give a special thanks to A&L Towing for their help in transporting the car back to the race shop from the track.  Their support, like all of our other sponsors, is greatly appreciated, and we as a team will never forget to let them know that.

      It is currently a mystery right now as to where the future of the 2005 season stands for Hale Racing.  Michael has already stated that he's not done with racing, and that the team will probably run in only a select few events with a back up car (last year's racecar) throughout the rest of the year as championship hopes have all but vanished.  "I think the goal is to save some money, run in a few races and see what we can do about fixing the Lefthander," said Michael.  Be sure to stay tuned to HaleRacing.com for updates pertaining to what the teams plans are, and what the rest of the season has in store.  Thanks for stopping by, we hope you have enjoyed your stay.

Short article written by Brad Edwards

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