chrisburback.com

Six-time WISSOTA Challenge Series champion John Kaanta of Elk Mound, Wis., underwent surgery this morning on a broken leg suffered in an accident while the team was unloading the race car Friday at I-94 Speedway in Fergus Falls, Minn.

The 64-year-old Kaanta, who also broke his right collarbone, is expected to spend one more night in Lake Region Healthcare General Hospital and be home Sunday according to his son, Tony Kaanta.

At the racetrack, Kaanta was opening the team’s trailer door, which somehow became disconnected from a wench cable designed to lower the door slowly. When he unlatched it, the door immediately fell toward Kaanta, striking his shoulder and then falling on his right leg just above the ankle, his son said.

“He just about it made it (out of the way), but he wasn’t quite quick enough,” Tony Kaanta said. “It was a pretty scary deal for us, but we’re just glad he’s going to be fine and it wasn’t worse.”

Kaanta was attempting to compete in I-94’s King of the Dirt, a non-touring WISSOTA event paying $3,000-to-win won by Don Shaw.

Kaanta has a tour-leading three WISSOTA Challenge Series victories in 2018 and is second in the points to Pat Doar of New Richmond, Wis.

The team hasn’t discussed a timeline for when the former Dunn County deputy sheriff could return to competition.

“I don’t think he’d race for at least six weeks (but) we’re not too worried about that right now,” the younger Kaanta said. “If he’s able to race this year, great … we’ll just have to see how fast he heals, I guess. It’ll be tough to keep him down.”

Correction: Fixes hospital's location.