Three months after sustaining fractures to his hip and pelvis in a practice incident on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., Michael Johnson returned to the racetrack June 30 and July 1 for a Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires test at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Johnson, of Flint, Mich., driving for JDC Motorsports, is the first and only paralyzed driver licensed by INDYCAR to compete in Mazda Road to Indy developmental ladder program.

He turned a total of 121 laps over the six sessions on the 2.258-mile, 13-turn road course that will host Pro Mazda, Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires and the USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda races on July 31-Aug. 2. USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda drivers also tested June 30 and July 1 at Mid-Ohio, while Indy Lights drivers tested June 29.

He's pointing to competing in the doubleheader at Mid-Ohio if medically cleared by INDYCAR.

"Being able to be on track with traffic gave me that urge to push every lap," Johnson said. "I obviously have a lot to still pick up on, and since all my competitors have been racing all season long I have to play a bit of catch-up here before the end of July. My old driving style is coming back and by the end of the second day of testing  I was pushing harder and harder going through the corners and being more and more aggressive.

"Momentum through the corners is so important and just finding that confidence in the car was a big win for me at the team. Hopefully we'll have decent weather when we come back to Mid-Ohio at the end of the month for the race weekend. I'll be continuing my aggressive training program and hope to get another test in, too. I have to be sure I'm 100 percent ready to race, to be competitive and that my mind is straight. The last session of the test showed that I was competitive, that I'm in the ballpark, and that I'm officially back."

On March 27, Johnson’s car made heavy contact with a Turn 3 barrier on the 1.8-mile, 11-turn St. Petersburg street circuit. He was admitted to Bayfront Medical Center and discharged on April 15.

Indy Lights joins the Verizon IndyCar Series on July 11-12 for the ABC Supply Wisconsin 250 at Milwaukee IndyFest race weekend, while Indy Lights and Pro Mazda join the Verizon IndyCar Series on July 17-18 for the Iowa Corn 300 race weekend at Iowa Speedway.

Indy Lights test results || Pro Mazda results || USF2000 results