The former IRL champion underwent more surgery Tuesday.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Kenny Brack considers himself lucky to be alive.

The former IRL champion and Indianapolis 500 winner who was seriously injured in a crash three weeks ago underwent a second operation Tuesday, but he is expected to make a full recovery in about six months.

“I’m sure you can call it luck or whatever, but I certainly feel I had help from above to still be here. It was an extremely big crash,” Brack said Monday in his first interview since the Oct. 12 wreck.

Brack broke his back, a thigh, his breastbone and both ankles when his car made contact with another car, spun into the air and crashed in the season-ending race at Texas Motor Speedway.

“I’m coming along pretty good, considering what we went through in Texas,” Brack said in a teleconference from the Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana. “I’m moving about every day, doing lots of rehab, regaining my strength. It’s great to see progress every day.”

Another IRL driver, Tony Renna, was killed in a similar crash when his car went airborne during private tests at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway two weeks ago. “It shows there are risks involved with motor racing,” Brack said. “It’s high speed, things happen, there can be big consequences. I paid a cheap price.”

Brack’s surgery Tuesday involve placement of a bracket don his spine and probably some bone fusion to stabilize the back, Dr. Robert Gregori said. “Without that, there’s an increased risk of developing some deformity and possibly nerve injury,” Gregori said.

Brack had surgery on his back the day after the crash. Normally, the stabilization is done at the same time, but it was delayed because there was a tear of a membrane that covers the brain and spinal cord.

, causing a leak of spinal fluid, Gregori said.

Brack has seen photos but remembers nothing about the crash. He said he only recalls waking up four days later with a tube down his throat.

Gregori said it probably would take three to four months for Brack’s ankles to heal and three more months before he is able to carry weight on them.

Car owner Bobby Rahal said he would talk with Brack about a replacement driver for the team during the winter testing period.

“But first things first,” Rahal said. “We’re just anxious for him to get strong, get better. I know he’s in good hands there.”

Brack said he normally has three one-hour rehabilitation sessions each day, including occupational therapy to teach him how to perform routine tasks such as moving himself from one chair to another or from his hospital bed to a wheelchair. He also lifts weights.

The 1998 IRL champion and the 1999 Indianapolis 500 winner said he would decide whether to resume driving after he has healed.

“I don’t have any thoughts about quitting now, but that’s a decision I’ll take when I get to that stage,” Brack said. “Right now, I’m determined to get back 100 percent.”

AP-ES-11-03-03 1830EST