De Silvestro grateful she can drive

De Silvestro grateful she can drive

Published May. 23, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

Simona de Silvestro is thankful the horrific car crash that left her with severe burns last week only damaged her hands. Even heavily bandaged, de Silvestro can still drive and she plans to do so Saturday at the Indy 500.

De Silvestro lost control of her car during practice on Thursday. The vehicle slammed into the wall, went airborne and flipped several times before coming to a stop upside down and in flames with the 22-year-old driver strapped inside.

De Silvestro says she's lucky that was the most severe damage from a crash that could have killed her.

But she was back behind the wheel again on Saturday, and qualified for this weekend's big race. She had some dead layers of skin removed over the weekend and says the tissue beneath her dressing is very raw, but she wants to be driving in this, the 100th anniversary race.

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De Silvestro was in Boston on Tuesday during a promotion for Indy car racing's return to New England. The circuit will race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in August.

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