Hughes fighting the pain barrier at Enduro Cup Test Day
Jarrod Hughes back behind the wheel after Saturday Super2 crash
Hughes T-boned by Mason Kelly, sent to hospital for checks on Saturday night
20-year-old to join Jack Le Brocq in #9 Erebus Camaro for Enduro Cup
Erebus Motorsport junior Jarrod Hughes is pushing through the pain barrier after his frightening crash during Race 1 of the Dunlop Super2 Series at Queensland Raceway on Saturday.
Hughes was blindsided by an out of control Mason Kelly at Turn 3 on the second lap of the race, with the #22 Kelly Racing Mustang spearing into the drivers side of Hughes' #118 Image Racing Commodore.
A shaken Hughes climbed gingerly from his car clutching his left arm, with hospital scans clearing him of any broken bones, whilst Kelly was given a 35-point penalty for his role in the incident.
Hughes returned to the track on Sunday, though was ruled out of Super2 running, and has returned to the cockpit at today's pre-Ryco Enduro Cup Test Day, jumping into Jack Le Brocq's #9 Tyrepower Camaro.
Speaking on Supercars.com's Cool Down Lap podcast on Sunday evening, Hughes admitted he was still experiencing pain, quipping he'd need: "Painkillers, maybe a piece of wood on my arm, and then duct tape it on."
"It's ok. Considering how big the shunt was, it's a little bit of bruising on the inside, nothing on the outside, but a little bruising on the inside, so hopefully it should be alright Tuesday, or it's going to be a long day."
The bubbly 20-year-old even returned to the scene of the accident on Sunday afternoon on a Supercars Travel experience, and didn't miss the opportunity to crack a joke on the back of a flatbed truck.
"That made for a good story once we got down to Turn 3. I said actually when the fighter jet was going over the top, I said I had a leg up on that guy, I pulled more G's than he did.
"I think it was 50-something [G's], it was a big hit. The car looks like a banana, you know that banana at Coffs Harbour? It looks like that.
"To be fair, as big a shunt as it was, I didn't come out too bad."
A zero point weekend added to what has been a miserable Super2 season for last season's Rookie of the Year, who is buried down in 20th in the standings, and is unsure as to whether or not his car will be fixed for the next Super2 round at the Repco Bathurst 1000.
"That's above my pay grade. They haven't told me anything today, because they just wanted me to get better, but it looks pretty bad.
"Everyone looks at it, and their face goes, 'ooh,' so it was a big hit. I watched it back last night and I didn't realise; it felt big, but because I didn't see it coming I just didn't know what happened."
