ROCKINGHAM, N.C. -- Steve Park would love nothing more than to stand atop these grandstands at North Carolina Speedway and shout to the world that he's ready to return to racing. For now, though, he'll settle for quietly and unassumingly strolling around the garage area knowing his return is not far away.

Park was involved in a horrifying accident at Darlington Raceway during a Busch race last September. He was T-boned by another car that day and rammed into the wall so hard he was knocked unconscious and suffered a brain contusion -- an injury more dangerous than the worst concussion.

	Steve Park won last year at Rockingham. This year, he is watching the race from the sidelines.

The hit was so severe, in fact, that Park has experienced lingering effects, including blurred vision and slowed, slurred speech, that has kept him out of that Busch car, as well as his Winston Cup No. 1 Chevrolet, since that day.

And yet here he is roaming the garage area in Rockingham, N.C., where almost one year ago today he won a Winston Cup race. Park is here to to satiate his craving for the racing scene he longs to rejoin. He's also here to offer a little face time, because even though he isn't ready to shout it from the rooftops, he knows his return is not far away.

"Steve should be back real soon -- within the next two or three weeks, I presume," said Kenny Wallace, who has been keeping Park's Cup ride, the No. 1 Chevrolet, warm for him.

Park did not wish to speak with the media, but he did say he's been testing at different tracks and that the tests "are going really well. I'm very excited."

Those around Park caution him about trying to return too early. Drivers, like Ernie Irvan, have done that before and actually worsened their condition and further slowed their return. So to be sure Park is 100 percent prepared before he comes back, he'll go through three NASCAR-approved test sessions. The first took place last Thursday when he practiced with fellow Dale Earnhardt Inc. drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr., Michael Waltrip and Wallace at Lowe's Motor Speedway near Charlotte, N.C.

Park ran so well that by the end of the day Wallace was ready to step aside and let Park race this weekend. But Park is heeding the advice from others and willing to take his time.

"We were in total shock," Wallace said. "As a matter of fact, it was dead silence. Steve jumped in that car and it was amazing.

"He was flying. There were times where all three of us couldn't catch him. I told him he should just drive this weekend at Rockingham. I don't know if it's his stamina or what, but he elected not to run. He wants to be right when he comes back."

During that test, Park said he still had to squint his eyes to see down the straightaways clearly, but he believes his sight is getting better the more he races. He will race twice more in test sessions -- this Monday and Tuesday at Atlanta Motor Speedway followed by a two-day session at Darlington -- and then, he hopes, he'll try to make a return to racing.

And believe it or not, Wallace would like nothing more than to see that happen. Wallace is perhaps an unlikely supporter of Park's return since it will mean Wallace will no longer be in the No. 1 Chevy. But Wallace has formed a bond with Park since filling in for him, and he's more concerned with Park's well-being than his own status.

"I've gotten closer with Steve and have felt some of his heartache at times," Wallace said. "I saw his mom crying the other day at the (test session on Thursday) when she knew he was back and could do it. It is his car. I can't wait for him to get back in the car."

Park, for now, can wait. But not for long.

Rupen Fofaria is a beat writer for the Raleigh News & Observer.