Johnson has surgery from self-inflicted wound

UPDATE Jimmie Johnson required repair of a tendon and nerve after cutting his left middle finger with a kitchen knife Sunday afternoon in Daytona Beach, Fla., while preparing to compete in the final segment of the Rolex 24 sports car series race. The injury occurred above the knuckle and happened while Johnson was attempting to cut a small hole in his firesuit in order to feed a tube from a cooling shirt through the pocket of his suit. Johnson flew from Daytona Beach to Charlotte for further evaluation and outpatient treatment with a hand specialist at Carolinas Medical Center. The injury will not keep Johnson from driving in the season’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup event Feb. 7 at Daytona International Speedway. “That certainly wasn’t the way I wanted to end the Rolex race," said Johnson, who ran with the No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing team. “I really appreciate all the hard work by the guys this weekend. I’m just sorry I wasn’t there at the end with them. The doctors did a great job in Daytona and Charlotte and I can’t thank them enough. Everything feels good and I’ll be ready to roll for Daytona." Johnson is still scheduled to appear on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien" [Jan 26th] and will co-host his Super Skins charity golf tournament and party with Nick Lachey this weekend in Tampa, Fla. GMR Marketings PR

01/26/09 Jimmie Johnson required stitches to close a gash to the middle finger on his left hand, suffered just prior to his final driving stint in the Rolex 24 at Daytona Sunday. According to Johnson's publicist, Kristine Curley, the driver was attempting to cut a hole in the pocket of his fire suit with a kitchen knife, in the effort to weave a cooling tube through the suit. The knife slipped, and Johnson suffered a gash to his finger. "It got me pretty good," Johnson told The Associated Press. "Cut right through the fabric to where my finger was on the other side." Johnson promptly removed himself from competition, surrendering his final run in the car to teammate Jimmy Vasser. Johnson was taken to the Daytona International Speedway infield care center, where he received stitches, though Curley was uncertain how many. For precautionary reasons, Johnson then flew quickly back to Charlotte, N.C., for further evaluation at an area hospital. He said the injury will not affect his driving and he'll be ready to race when teams report to Daytona in 11 days to begin preparations for the season-opening Daytona 500. Curley echoed those thoughts. "It's nothing major," Curley said. "He's fine. It won't affect him at all." Johnson teamed up with Vasser, Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty in the GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing entry, a team that finished second in 2008. But early in the running Saturday evening, Johnson pitted to change a tail light when his #99 Pontiac stalled out. The gear box had broken, dropping Johnson and his team nine laps behind the leaders. ESPN