Christopher Bell said he plans to run all 400 miles at Pocono on Sunday despite a broken left wrist suffered in a 69-G crash at Michigan last week.
Doctors ruled out surgery and expect a full recovery in six weeks, but Bell said he is "pretty much driving the car one-handed" and may face tougher tests at the next two road-course races.
Joe Gibbs Racing molded Bell’s cast to fit the steering wheel and shaved material off the wheel’s left side, while Brandon Jones prepared in the simulator as the standby driver.
Bell said the crash also bruised his foot, briefly cut off radio contact when his earpiece popped out, and left him scrambling from a car fire after he realized immediately that his wrist was broken.
Sunday’s Pocono race was moved up 2 hours to a little after 1 p.m. EDT because of weather, with Denny Hamlin chasing a third straight win at a track where he has 7 Cup victories.