Yet another broken back for IndyCar

As if the evidence (chart updated to include this injury) wasn't damning enough about the injuries sustained by IndyCar drivers on ovals since the series' inception, today comes word that IZOD IndyCar Series championship runner-up Will Power suffered a back fracture in the Oct. 16 crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but Power's injury apparently won't require surgery.

Power, whose car launched over Alex Lloyd's in the fiery 15-car crash, was examined and released from a Las Vegas hospital in the hours after the incident. But he continued to experience pain.

Noted orthopedic surgery Terry Trammell of Indianapolis diagnosed a compression fracture of Power's fourth thoracic vertebra. The cure is rest and rehabilitation.