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Earnhardt, Despite Crash Injuries, Is Expected to Start Race Sunday (VIV BERNSTEIN, 7/20/04, NY Times)

The Nascar driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. is expected to start the New England 300 Nextel Cup race at New Hampshire International Speedway on Sunday. But after sustaining second-degree burns in a crash on Sunday, there is some question about whether he will be able to finish it.

Earnhardt was released from the University of California-Davis Medical Center in Sacramento yesterday after treatment for burns over 6 percent of his body, including his legs and chin.