Ron Fellows to have surgery

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Fellows to have surgery: Canadian racing driver Ron Fellows, who drove the last two races of the 2003 American Le Mans Series season with a painfully dislocated shoulder, will undergo surgery Dec. 1 in Indianapolis to repair the damage. Fellows, who drives for the factory Chevrolet Corvette team in the American Le Mans Series, has won the GTS class driving title the past two seasons in the sports car racing series. He expects to be fully recovered from the surgery to begin his title defense when the 2004 ALMS season starts with the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring March 17-20. Fellows injured his left shoulder in a rock-climbing accident on Sept. 20 near his home in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga, Ont. After originally seeing a doctor in Toronto, he traveled to Indianapolis to see Dr. Terry Trammell, a noted orthopedic surgeon who has long been associated with the treatment of injured racing drivers. With Trammell's help, Fellows was able to painfully complete the minimum amount of laps required for him to earn points in the ALMS event in Miami on Sept. 27, one week after the injury, with co-driver Johnny O'Connell doing most of the driving for the team in the race. Fellows and O'Connell clinched the GTS class driving championship by finishing fourth in that race. Fellows, who has had to sleep in a special sling to prevent him from raising his arm more than 45 degrees, helped the Corvette team conduct tire tests for Goodyear last week at Sebring International Raceway, his last racing activity before the surgery. The team has another major test scheduled for early February and he expects to be able to participate. While he won't miss any racing, the surgery and resulting recovery will cause Fellows to miss a winter of playing ice hockey, one of his favorite activities, as well as spending time on the ice with his two young sons.(Speed Channel) Fellows, also driver most of the Winston Cup road course races, at Sonoma and Watkins Glen, this past season in the #1 DEI Chevy.(11-27-2003)