Q&A: MB2 team manager Jay Frye

CONCORD, N.C. -- Winston Cup driver Jerry Nadeau, critically injured during a practice accident at Richmond International Raceway three weeks ago, has made significant strides over the past few days.

During Winston Cup practice Friday at Lowe's Motor Speedway, MB2 Motorsports team manager Jay Frye updated NASCAR.com Senior Writer Marty Smith on Nadeau's progress.

First things first, Jerry's doing better even than yesterday's report?

VIDEO CLIPS Nadeau crashes during practice at Richmond Play video

Frye: Oh yes. I saw Jerry on Tuesday and was just amazed by what I saw -- the difference in just one week. We were very encouraged to announce that he's now fully conscious. He was very alert when I saw him, he knew I was there. He was smiling, moving around a lot. So again, we were very excited Tuesday.

Then yesterday, we put out the release at 11 a.m. about what was going on, and at 2 p.m. Jerry called. I had a phenomenal conversation with him. It was the best 15 minutes I've ever spent with him.

So he sounded completely normal, no slurring?

It was great. We talked about how the team was doing, how everybody was doing and how he missed everyone. We talked about how we ran at Charlotte, and about some things he and I were working on before the incident. So the recall was there. It was just a great conversation.

What does he remember? Does he remember the accident?

We really didn't get into it a whole bunch. He asked what happened, so we didn't go into a lot of detail with him much. So it doesn't appear that he remembers the actual incident, which the doctors say is completely normal.

Some people seemed frustrated about lack of ability to get information and updates on Jerry's condition. You guys were equally as frustrated, right?

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Well, we were a little bit disturbed by some of the reports that MB2 and NASCAR were withholding information. I'm not sure how much more we could have done. The most important thing was that the information we were putting out was accurate.

It's very difficult at times. Jerry isn't the only patient in the hospital, so it might take all day to get to a particular doctor. Once we got to the doctor, we'd get with the family and discuss what we wanted to release. The family has been great.

Jada and Jerry's mom and dad want the fans and competitors to know what's going on with Jerry. We're all very encouraged. It's all been great news. He's never taken a step backwards, but we need to be sure the information we put out was accurate, and that sometimes takes a while to get compiled.

What is Jerry able to do right now? We've discussed his speech, but is he up and moving around and interacting with people?

He's moving quite a bit. Obviously, he's still going through physical therapy and I think a lot that will come. Again, in two days it went from him having inconsistent speech to carrying on a lengthy conversation. When someone talks to you and truly connects with you verbally, that makes you feel like they're OK.

We had a conversation. It was just like before the incident, so that was the most uplifting thing that could have happened. The physical part, he's been down for a couple weeks, so the physical therapy is ongoing. The hospital has been wonderful. They're putting him through three to four hours of physical therapy a day. Hard physical therapy. They're getting him up and they're wearing him out.

Obviously it's working, because we're seeing results every day. He's probably better today, right now, than he was yesterday. I'm sure he is. I haven't spoken to him today, so I can say that's a fact, but the assumption would be that he's better today.

The best way to describe this week is we overcame a big hurdle. It was a great week -- to regain full consciousness, to be able to talk and carry on a conversation, very normal things are now transpiring with him.

Is there a timeline yet for when he might come back to Charlotte?

The hospital, VCU medical center, has been doing a phenomenal job. And what they're doing is working. The results prove that. So there's not been a hurry to move him. But I'm sure it'll happen sooner than later because he's doing so well. So there's no set date yet, but I'm sure it'll be soon.

His strong will and recovery hearten so many people, and obviously the next step would be to return to competition. Do you think that's a feasible goal at this time?

Well, it's a bit too early to tell. We're very, very encouraged by his progress. I've been very optimistic since it happened, because, again, he's always looked great and never taken a step back.

The kid is a very strong, very motivated, very dedicated young man, and I don't see any reason why he wouldn't return. There's a lot of things that have to happen, but we're sure encouraged by where he is today.

Are you surprised how far he's come in such a short period of time?

I think the doctors are very encouraged and surprised, because doctor don't usually use the word "rapid," and they said yesterday he was making a rapid recovery. Doctors are pessimistic people, and they're going to tell you the worst-case scenario and the best case scenario. So for them to say that, it makes us feel great.

Every head injury is different. We both might have the same type head injury and I'll recover much faster than you do. There's no rhyme or reason, no template, no time period for it. You just don't know. And this process is not over yet. He still has physical therapy and rehabilitation that he still has to do, but he's getting better every day, and every indication is that it's going to come out great.