Johnson Fractures Wrist; Will Miss Race of Champions: Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson sustained a fracture to his left wrist Friday, but the injury is not expected to affect his status for NASCAR preseason testing or the Feb. 18 Daytona 500. Johnson has withdrawn from the Dec. 16 Race of Champions Nations Cup at the Stade de France in Paris, but will attend the event to consult with Team USA. Doctors treating Johnson in Charlotte noted the 2006 NEXTEL Cup Series champion could be cleared to drive a race car in four weeks. The injury occurred as Johnson participated in a charity golf outing in Lecanto, Fla.(Hendrick PR)(12-10-2006)

Wow, that's no good. Hope he recovers quickly and well.

Wow.. hope he has a quick recovery!

that sucks....hope he recovers soon.

The Champions curse continues!

I read about that on Infield parking and I was dang. That has got to suck! Hopefully he will heal quickly.

That sucks. Hope he recovers well.

Hope he gets better soon!

ouch - speedy recovery!

Is anybody else seeing a trend here?

Tony won the championship last year, then got hurt at the Chili Bowl.

And now Jimmie gets hurt?

Maybe its a good thing Kasey didn't win the title. B)

:( Yikes! Get better soon, Jimmie!

I know it's horrible, but I laughed at first because of the headline on Foxsports. It made it seem like he just randomly fell off... but anyhow, I do hope that he has a speedy recovery!

I laughed and said "how drunk was he"

Hope he gets better soon!!!

Ouch..hope it gets better soon.

I feel bad for him hope he recovers fast

I told my dad about it yesterday and his first words were "how drunk was he?" and I was like "apparently he wasn't"

Although I guess my dad heard this morning that a news paper in Florida is saying that Mr. Johnson was "on top" of the golf cart at the time of the accident. But that's just a rumor that I have yet to find any proof of and I forgot to ask dad where he heard it...

In any case it sucks to break a wrist (been there done that) I'm glad he's OK and that he's also alowing time to heal...

I am beginning to agree with you guys though... the championship may be cursed... :)

I hope he gets better soon!

ok it has been verified by witnesses. The 2006 Nascar Nextel Cup Champion was "sprawled" across the top of the golf cart.

Here is the artilce from foxsports.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Jimmie Johnson was "horsing around" on top of a moving golf cart when he fell off of it and broke his left wrist, his team told The Associated Press on Monday.

The version clarifies what happened during the celebrity tournament in Lecanto, Fla., one day after the initial account from Hendrick Motorsports implied that the Nextel Cup champion had fallen out of the cart.
Although Hendrick officials gave no details of the accident, Johnson released a statement that said he was "in" the cart when he fell out.

"I was in a golf cart and the driver took a sharp turn," Johnson said on Sunday. "I wasn't holding on tight enough, landed awkwardly on the ground and heard a little pop."

That account differed from one in Monday's edition of The Citrus County (Fla.) Chronicle, which had a reporter at the Black Diamond Ranch who witnessed Johnson horsing around during the Mike Hampton Pitching In Celebrity tournament.

The newspaper said Johnson was sprawled across the top of the cart Friday as it headed toward the 16th hole when his playing partner hit a berm, throwing Johnson several feet.

Johnson was unavailable for comment Monday, but a spokeswoman for the driver confirmed he was on top of the cart when The AP asked for clarification.

"Jimmie was horsing around and was on top of the golf cart when he fell off," spokeswoman Kristine Curley said. "He wasn't trying to deceive anyone and is sorry if anyone believes he was being untruthful."

The injury, which was to his non-shifting hand, will prevent him from driving for at least four weeks. He is expected to participate in preseason testing at Daytona International Speedway next month and should be fine for the season-opening Daytona 500 in February.

Johnson will not be able to compete in the Race of Champions Nations Cup at the Stade de France in Paris next weekend. Johnson, who teamed with Jeff Gordon and Colin Edwards to win the Nations Cup in 2002, said he will still travel to Paris on Wednesday as a consultant for Team USA.

He was scheduled to team with X-Games champion Travis Pastrana in Paris. A replacement for Johnson had not been announced Monday.

"It's disappointing that I can't compete ... but I'll definitely be in Paris to cheer them on and provide any support that I can," he said.

Johnson wrapped up his first NASCAR championship last month and celebrated it Dec. 1 at the annual awards ceremony in New York City. It capped a whirlwind year for Johnson, who won the Daytona 500 and the NASCAR event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway en route to the title.

It's the second consecutive year that NASCAR's reigning champion has been injured during the offseason, and Johnson is the second driver in less than a week to get hurt.

Tony Stewart broke his wrist and bruised his ribs last January when he flipped a car during a qualifying race for the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals. Stewart's arm was placed in a cast, but he was able to compete a month later when the season opened at Daytona.

And on Thursday, Greg Biffle dislocated his right shoulder when he crashed while testing tires at the reconfigured Las Vegas Motor Speedway. His car burst into flames during the wreck and he was helped to safety by fellow driver Kyle Busch.

Boys will be boys :)

ouch, hope its ok.

and yeah those boys gotta have their fun i guess.

He didn't want to seem stupid so he edited the way it went a little bit lol

Geez, you would have thought that Jimmie was playing golf at my house. I do that with my golf cart all the time. Just not while it's moving. :lmbo

UPDATE 3: Hearing that American Formula 1 driver Scott Speed will replace Johnson in the Race of Champions Nations Cup this weekend at the Stade de France in Paris. Johnson will still attend as a spectator.(12-12-2006)

UPDATE 4: Scott Speed, the only American driver in Formula One, was tabbed Wednesday to replace NASCAR star Jimmie Johnson on Team USA's entry in the Race of Champions Nations Cup in Paris.(AP/ESPN)(12-13-2006)
UPDATE 5: Formula One driver Scott Speed injured his left wrist Thursday in a testing accident at Jerez, Spain, making him the second American driver in a week to withdraw from the Race of Champions Nations Cup due to injury. Indy Racing League driver Marco Andretti, who was also testing at Jerez, was greatly interested in taking Speed's place, but team conflicts prevented it, Hancock said. As a result, X-Games star Travis Pastrana is forced into unprecedented one-man duty for Team USA. The RoC consists of a pair of races -- one of which pits asphalt specialists against one another; the other dirt specialists. Pastrana will compete in both.(ESPN.com)(12-15-2006)




Edwards Comments on Johnson's Accident: For those who have criticized #48-Jimmie Johnson for fooling around and falling off a golf cart, #99-Carl Edwards says let's get real. "To be honest with you I´m a little disgusted with the media and some of their reactions to that. It´s pretty amazing. I tried to get Jimmie to go motorcycle riding with me about three weeks into the Chase and he´s like, Carl, I´m focused on winning this championship, I´m not taking any risks. I thought that said a lot about Jimmie´s focus and his ability to sacrifice. To me, if the dude wants to go ride around on golf carts...on top of them or underneath of them or skiing on a rope behind them, I mean he´s the champion, he won this thing, it´s his off season so he can do whatever he wants. I think it´s cool to think Jimmie Johnson was on top of a golf cart goofing around. I mean, you name a person in that garage area that hasn´t goofed around on a golf cart and I´ll give you a hundred dollars."(PRN's Garage Pass Radio Show)(12-14-2006)