Vasser 'woozy' after late race crash.

Former CART Champion Jimmy Vasser was cleared by doctors at Daytona International Speedway's infield medical centre following his part in a hard penultimate lap wreck in Saturday's Koolerz 300 Busch Series event.

The 1996 CART Champion was still feeling the effects of three separate hits that turned his Busch Series debut from what looked like becoming a highly respectable performance into a learning, and brain-jarring, experience.

Driving the #30 Braun Racing Dodge, Vasser qualified an excellent fifth for Saturday's 120-lap affair and was able to keep his place near the head of a sometimes wild and hairy draft right until turn three on lap 119.

Running just underneath Jamie McMurray's machine in a battle for fifth position, Vasser appeared to ease off the gas slightly entering the turn o as not to run up the track into McMurray. However Todd Bodine's #92 Herzog-Jackson car was sitting right on Vasser's rear bumper at the time and contact between the two was inevitable.

Bodine brushed Vasser's left rear corner with just enough force to pitch the #30 machine into the turn three wall where it was collected with some force by Jason Keller's car, which instantly burst into flames. As Vasser spun down the banking he was T-Boned by a blinded Mike McLaughlin before rolling to a smoky and crumpled halt.

Although he was uninjured, Vasser pronounced himself 'woozy' when trying to piece together what happened afterwards while Bodine was called to the NASCAR trailer to explain his part in the crash. Vasser was eventually classified 28th while Bodine went on to take the sixth finishing spot.

Vasser now has less than a week to rest and gather his bearings before practice begins for the 2003 Champ Car season opener in St Petersburg on Friday.