Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Former racer Phil McDonald was released from St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma Monday, about three weeks earlier than doctors had predicted.

McDonald was seriously injured in a streetbike crash in Sapulpa, Oklahoma on June 21, triggered by a pickup truck turning out of a parking lot.

“The doctors were astounded,” said Phil’s father, Norm McDonald. “He healed faster than they expected. They couldn’t believe that he was able to stand up, or that he had healed where they had put in the (surgical) staples. I told them that we had, one, the power of prayer from all over the world, and two, he’s a motorcycle racer and has the will to win.”

Norm McDonald said that an outpouring of e-mails had contributed to Phil’s recovery to date and had greatly lifted his spirits.

Phil McDonald faces additional surgery on damaged nerves in one arm. Norm McDonald said that surgeons said they would attempt to repair the damage after the swelling goes down, in a few weeks.