Kenny Brack is returning to the Brickyard to replace injured defending Indianapolis 500 champion Buddy Rice. Rice, who will not get a chance to defend his crown, was injured in a practice crash last Wednesday. Brack won the popular race in 1999 and will make his return to Indy more than one year after a bad crash knocked him out of the IRL. Brack passed a physical Tuesday night. The 39-year-old Brack has not raced in the IRL since breaking his back, ribs, both ankles and a thigh in a crash in Texas in October 2003. Rice, meanwhile, is in stable condition after his crash. According to Dr. Henry Bock, further evaluation of Rice discovered a partially torn spinal ligament in his mid-to-lower neck that is essential to maintaining the alignment of the spine. Doctors have recommended rest and rehabilitation and Rice will be re-assessed in about three weeks. The incident happened just 16 minutes into the qualifying session when Rice spun in turn two and slammed into the outside wall. Track workers helped him out of his No.16 Rahal-Letterman Honda. Rice won last year's pole with an average speed of 222.024