Tim Allen's Big Pain

12/24/1998 at 12:00 AM EST

Tim Allen is recovering from an emergency appendectomy that forced him out of a car race at the Laguna Seca Raceway in California. The "Home Improvement" star is doing well after the surgery Friday night, says his spokeswoman. Allen was taken to Community Hospital on the Monterey peninsula after feeling intense stomach pains while sitting in his Mustang at the track. "Tim was complaining about not feeling well during qualifying," said his business partner, Steve Saleen. "He's convinced he would have gotten the pole if it wasn't for the appendicitis."