Late Model race car driver Owen Miller has reportedly recovered from a serious, self-inflicted shotgun blast to his left foot, and is expected to race today (rescheduled from a rain-out yesterday) at 2pm in the Valpak 150 in Boston.

From the Danville Register & Bee:

... The Emporia native was working on his car on March 15 along side his brother-in-law, trying to get ready for South Boston’s May 24 opener, when they decided to take a break and go shoot at some clay pigeons.

Trapshooting was nothing new for Miller, who grew up hunting and considers himself a safe handler of firearms. And the 200 acres that surround his home were as perfect a place as any to do it.

But then it happened, and Miller is still not sure how.

Miller remembers that his shotgun was resting at his side and pointing toward the ground. But whether he brushed up against something, jarring or accidentally squeezing the trigger remains unknown. All that was certain was the bang and the pain, as the shotgun discharged into the outside of Miller’s left foot by the ankle — giving new meaning to the term lead foot — as pellets of birdshot filled the appendage.

Miller was still standing after the blast, but when his brother-in-law asked if he was OK, the reality of what happened hit him harder than the shot he had just taken.

“I said, ‘No, I just shot myself in the foot,’� Miller recalled. “I laid down on the ground and tried to get my wits about me rather than passing out.�

At the hospital, the doctors could only do so much.

They cleaned and trimmed what flesh they could. But the shot had ruined the bones where it hit, turning some to dust and scattering shards of others. And when they were done, Miller was left with a three-inch wide, rectangular hole on the side of his foot that he could see light through. He was also left with 16 of the birdshot pellets left in his foot — remnants that the doctors couldn’t get to without doing more ligament and tissue damage than it was worth.

“At first everybody was really concerned. They couldn’t believe it happened,� Miller said. “I was really overwhelmed and very appreciative of how much they cared.

“But after they figured out I was actually going to be able to walk again, that’s when the jokes started to come.�

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