#14-Tony Stewart is being hospitalized for a back injury he suffered in a non-racing accident while driving an all-terrain vehicle, Stewart-Haas Racing announced Tuesday. Stewart is awake, alert and able to move his extremities, according to a statement from Stewart-Haas Racing spokesman Mike Arning, who said the accident happened Sunday on the West Coast and wouldn’t specify where Stewart is hospitalized. Fox Sports reports that Stewart flipped a sand buggy outside of San Diego and was airlifted to a hospital. Arning said the team is not expected to make any further announcements about Stewart’s condition until Thursday afternoon. Stewart was in Arizona on Saturday night at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale and was interviewed on live television from the event. ‘We have received word from Stewart-Haas Racing of Tony Stewart’s accident and injury,’ NASCAR chairman Brian France said. ‘On behalf of everyone at NASCAR, I wish Tony a full recovery and look forward to seeing him back in our sport when he’s ready to return.’(ESPN)(2-2-2016)
UPDATE: Greg Biffle was among a group riding with Tony Stewart in the sand dunes of Southern California when Stewart suffered a back injury on Sunday, he told SiriusXM’s NASCAR channel on Wednesday night. Biffle confirmed to Sirius he was in Stewart’s group, though he ‘wasn’t near what went on’ and didn’t see exactly what happened. ‘We were kind of all riding as a group,’ Biffle told Sirius. ‘We started kind of hearing bits and pieces that he hurt his back. That’s all we knew. I do know the people that helped him ‘¦ (said) he was walking and moving all of his extremities, but he was in a lot of pain.’(USA Today)(2-4-2016)
UPDATE 2: Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, sustained a burst fracture of the L1 vertebra in an all-terrain vehicle accident Sunday while vacationing on the West Coast. Stewart was transported to a local hospital following the non-racing accident and promptly evaluated. He was awake and alert throughout the process and able to move all of his extremities. Stewart flew to North Carolina Tuesday evening and was admitted to a Charlotte-area hospital for further evaluation. On Wednesday, he underwent surgery. The subsequent recovery period means Stewart will miss the beginning of the Sprint Cup season. A timetable for Stewart’s return has not been determined, but he is expected to make a full recovery and return to the #14 Chevrolet in 2016. Plans for an interim driver have not been finalized.(Stewart-Haas Racing)
