Iverson Jr. said reports that the engine in his dad's car let go and that the axle broke are false.

"The axle was not broke. There were no fluids coming out of the car," he said. "That leads me down one path, that the car got into some kind of oil or some kind of fluid. It happened between 1,000 feet and 1,320 feet -- right where everything gets spilled or comes out of the fuel cars."

The car, Iverson Jr. said, showed the oil pressure was steady, indicating that the engine didn't let go or throw a rod.

"The car got into something on the track, got loose, and hit the wall. People I trust, all Super Comp racers, told me that," he said. "The car is destroyed. It broke in half. All the safety equipment did exactly what it was supposed to do," he said.

Iverson Jr. said the family has a "very, very good videotape" supporting his theory. Filming it was a spectator in the stands who had shot a particular car earlier and just happened to keep the camera rolling for another couple of pairs of cars, just on a whim.

Last November, Iverson Sr. said, "This whole incident has cost me my race car and put me and my family through a great deal of pain and suffering because NHRA track people were just too busy to clean the track properly."

Said his son, "My dad saved and scratched and did everything he could to buy that car." And right after the crash, he said of his dad, "I think his racing days are over, even when he recovers. I don't know where he would get the money to buy another car."

But father and son took delivery of their new Super Comp car, one they bought for a mere $3,000, well below the average cost. That kind of money is like a fortune to the Iversons, and he said he is grateful for the gesture.

"I've tried not to generate any new bills," Iverson Sr. said. But a fellow racer, who knew of Iverson's predicament, called him with the offer.

Iverson  said he didn't "have the extra dollars" to prepare the car properly for a return to Pacific Raceways, but his plan is "to come back to the scene of the crime . . . to show that I can get past that spot on the track where I had the accident."

Iverson said, "The people I can speak highly of are the racers and DRAW. They've been wonderful.

"There isn't a better organization out there than DRAW. If anybody's looking for a place to donate money, that's the place. They are absolutely wonderful people. I just can't say enough about how great that organization is," he said. Public-address announcer Bob Frey has joined DRAW in sending Iverson get-well and thinking-of-you cards.

Racers rallied around the family right away. Friend and fellow Super Comp racer Dan Benham helped them with living arrangements while Iverson was hospitalized, considering his  home is three hours south of Seattle. Benham gave Gail Iverson and her family the use of his Seattle house, saying 'I'll sleep in the motorhome. You just take the house.' "

Said Iverson, "The racers stepped up and gave her fistfuls of dollars" to stem the costs of transportation and eating out and various daily expenses.
 
After this experience, though, Gail Iverson told her husband that she never again will accompany him to the racetrack once he gets his car in competition trim. He understands.

"This was terribly difficult on my family," he said. "They're the ones who went through so much. It was easy on me. I don't remember it, and I was in a coma."

He's not in the dark anymore about what can happen if something goes awry on the racetrack, either. But he wants to race again. His target for returning to action is the 2010 Northwest Nationals -- and if his perseverance counts for anything, his name should be on the entry list next July.