LONG POND, Pa. - It's been difficult for Josh Yost to find his place at the racetrack following a pit road accident May 1 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

A man who's comfortable being inches away from speeding cars and teammates working at a frantic, yet precise, pace now feels awkward as he inches along with a bulky cast following reconstructive surgery on his ankle.

Yost was struck by Rusty Wallace's car during the race at what most drivers feel is the widest, safest pit road in all of NASCAR. It will take a year of rehabilitation before Yost can return to his work as Jeff Burton's jackman, but for now, all he can do is sit around and offer moral support to his teammates - sometimes by simply being in the way.

"It's a matter of inches every time you're out there," Yost said. "It's amazing it doesn't happen more often."

As passing becomes more difficult on the track, race teams have figured the best place to pass is on pit road. Each second saved during a stop for gasoline and tires translates to 100 yards on the racetrack. And with the increasing pressure to maintain or improve a position on pit road comes added dangers.

"Anytime you put 43 cars at the same spot and a lot of the emphasis is coming in hard, braking hard and leaving hard, things happen - and sometimes it's not good," Ricky Rudd said. "It's an accident waiting to happen."

Nobody knows that better than Rudd. In 1990, his car struck Bill Elliott crewman Mike Rich at Atlanta Motor Speedway, killing the rear tire changer.

Rudd doesn't like to talk about the accident, but pit road remains one of his concerns.

"I don't know how you could ever make it but so safe. It's part of racing," he said.

Rudd's accident led to NASCAR creating a speed limit on pit road. Cars now are clocked with electronic devices that often catch drivers trying to push the limit to gain an advantage on the track. Speeders are caught each week and sent back to pit road for a pass-through penalty. But even at 55 mph, cars are still lethal weapons and drivers sometimes have a difficult time threading them through a maze of other cars and crewman.

Yost said fans don't know about most of the problems for the over-the-wall crewmen because they often continue their work after being knocked down. Despite a serious injury that will take a year to heal, Yost said he plans to be back on the jack next year.

"It broke my fibia, kind of crushed it. The side skirt cut through the back of my heel, through all the tendons and ligaments and joint capsule and came out through the front of my foot," he said. "It basically looked like you de-boned a ham."

During his rehabilitation, Yost only comes to the racetrack when NASCAR is close to his home near Welcome, N.C.

"I'll be back," he said. "I'm not worried, I'm not scared. I like being close to the action."

Reach Don Coble at don.coble@bellsouth.net.