NEWBERRYTOWN -- Round and round the cars went Wednesday night at Susquehanna Speedway Park.
Where would this track take Nicole Bower? Nobody really knew.
The hope?
That after some unloading, tightening and tinkering with Bower's #75 ABC West Lanes & Lounge sprint car, she would feel good again about racing.
Bower hasn't raced since July 27, when she flipped six times at Williams Grove Speedway, while running second in a consolation race.
Since then, she's been in a dark place: her mind replaying the wreck over and over with nightmares that seem as though they are being broadcast in high definition.
"I'm just in the middle of sleeping and all of a sudden, I'm hitting the wall...and I'm waking up," she said.
Bower suffered a concussion from the crash.
On Wednesday, she was at SSP, practicing for the first time since her accident.
One of her goals? Wipe away the doubt -- one lap at a time' following doctor's orders.
"He believes the best thing is for her to get back into the car; get out onto the track and know when she goes into the first turn, she's not going to flip like she did the last time," said Gary Bower, Nicole's father, referring to her doctor's suggestion.
Before she climbed into her sprint car, however, she received a hug from her mother and was handed a helmet from her father.
Both are concerned parents; they know the risks.
As does Nicole Bower's crew chief, legendary driver Frankie Herr. "It hurts you, when you're going (those) speeds and creating a crash like she had -- that's pretty traumatic," said Herr, who added that Bower's July accident was caused by a mechanical failure.
Nicole Bower has also endured some vision problems with her left eye as a result of the wreck. She is currently treating the issue through therapy.
During her Wednesday practice runs, Bower hit one corner after another and later remarked how good she felt driving. She now plans on running the National Open against the World of Outlaws on September 29 at Williams Grove Speedway.
Despite the nightmares, the drive to drive again never left her.
"When I was in the hospital, I asked the nurse if I could race again the next night; she just laughed and said I was crazy," said Nicole.
While the practice runs don't count, they are a major victory in Bower's comeback.
She was driving away the nightmares of one terrible crash.
Some video used in this report is courtesy of www.SportsPlusVideo.com and Lynn Schaeffer Productions.
