Craig Dollansky Racing
Dollansky suffers dislocated elbow, nearing the end of rehab process
ZIMMERMAN, MN. (June 25, 2019) - Craig Dollansky has taken the last number of weeks off from racing competition at the Knoxville Raceway as he is continuing to recover from a dislocated left elbow he suffered in a non-racing accident on April 29.
“The injury April 29th was a setback I really didn’t need personally,” Dollansky said. “I felt really bad for my Selvage Motorsports race team and others that it affected. I was just beginning to increase my fitness training, riding a bike and other things fitness-wise as I ramp back up from my back surgery and it was going very good. Initially, when I knew it was a dislocated elbow and nothing broken, I was pretty encouraged thinking I could recover quickly without much downtime from the cockpit of the race car.”
Unfortunately for the Minnesota driver, the road to recovery would take longer than he initially expected. “My doctor told me no lifting, pulling or using my arm for eight weeks.”
Dollansky only had one night of racing in the 2019 Knoxville season under his belt at the time of the injury, which came on April 20 and “That night I felt very good in the car,” he said. “We had no brakes that night and once slide jobs started happening in my heat race I had to pull back. We were unable to get any brakes in the car that night so I made a few laps in the feature that night and pulled in.”
A racer doesn’t like to keep away from the race track, ‘The Crowd Pleaser’ included. “After attempting to race that first weekend I told my team I’d have to take quite a few weeks off. I’ve attempted to race on and off a few times since then (June 1, June 8) but not very effectively,” Dollansky said. “I had to have help buckling my belts, strapping my helmet among other things. I began physical therapy the week of the Knoxville World of Outlaws show and my physical therapist advised me not to race during this process or I could be right back where I started.”
The good news is the majority of the rehabilitation process is behind Dollansky. “I’m at eight weeks, my range of motion is increasing quickly and I can get back to racing and get after it like we need to be.”
In the interim, team owner Dustin Selvage attempted to run the car on the Friday of the World of Outlaws and broke the driveline and had to send the motor out to get checked out for damage.
As for when fans can see ‘The Crowd Pleaser’ back in the car: “We were planning on my return to the cockpit at the Jackson nationals this coming weekend but unfortunately that’s not going to happen. We should have our motor and car ready to get back at it at Knoxville on July 6th.”
Dollansky has been competing at Knoxville Raceway this season in the Knoxville Championship Cup Series in his return to racing full-time after a back injury forced him into early retirement in 2017. He has appeared in four races at Knoxville after competing in 34 Raceway’s season opener in West Burlington, Iowa.
Follow Craig Dollansky Racing on Facebook and Twitter for additional updates and details and check out dollanskyracing.com
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About Craig Dollansky
Craig Dollansky is a professional racecar driver from Elk River, MN and currently resides in nearby Zimmerman. He is married to Julie Dollansky and they have two sons, Lucas and Garrett and a daughter, Peyton. Dollansky has raced all over the country during his racing career, and is a 66-time-winner with the NOS Energy Drink World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series. He was forced to step aside from racing in 2017 due to lingering back injuries sustained in crashes throughout his career. Through an intensive rehabilitation process, Dollansky has worked to regain a clean bill of health and in early 2019, he announced he was going to return to racing sprint cars as a driver. He will run Knoxville Raceway’s weekly sprint car division.
For media inquiries, contact Shane Carlson at 651-395-0801 or email [email protected].