|
Post by Tom Pearce on Feb 2, 2016 17:22:58 GMT -5
Tony Stewart back injury
Tony Stewart has been hospitalized with a back injury sustained while driving an all-terrain vehicle on the West Coast, team spokesman Mike Arning told USA TODAY Sports in an email. Stewart's team released a statement Tuesday that indicated the three-time NASCAR champion was injured in a non-racing accident. Stewart-Haas Racing said Stewart was transported to a local hospital following the accident and is awake and alert. However, the exact location of the accident was not disclosed. Stewart, 44, is able to move all extremities, the team said. Arning said another update will not be issued until Thursday afternoon when more information about Stewart's injury is known. The co-owner of SHR and driver of the No. 14 car is retiring from NASCAR after this season.
|
|
tac10
Full Member
Posts: 225
|
Post by tac10 on Feb 3, 2016 19:13:49 GMT -5
they said on Race Hub that the vehicle he was driving did not flip and was not damaged. It sounded like a hard landing on all four tires.
|
|
|
Post by 221dayton on Feb 4, 2016 9:44:54 GMT -5
Stewart Was Walking after Incident
Jeff Gluck USA Today 2/3/16
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.
Stewart-Haas Racing said Tuesday the driver/owner was hospitalized with an injury following an off-road vehicle incident. 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."
|
|
|
Post by Tom Pearce on Feb 4, 2016 17:17:44 GMT -5
Stewart Has Spinal Surgery
Nate Ryan NBC Sports 2/4/2016
Tony Stewart will miss the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season after undergoing surgery for a burst fracture of the L1 vertebra in an all-terrain vehicle accident Sunday, Stewart-Haas Racing announced Thursday.
The release from the team:
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (Feb. 4, 2016) – Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 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 No. 14 Chevrolet in 2016. Plans for an interim driver have not been finalized.
|
|
|
Post by Tom Pearce on Feb 4, 2016 17:31:54 GMT -5
Questions and answers about Tony Stewart’s situation
Dustin Long NBC Sports 2/4/2016
Stewart-Haas Racing announced Thursday that Tony Stewart would miss the beginning of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season after sustaining a burst fracture of the L1 vertebra in an all-terrain accident Sunday on the West Coast.
The announcement has led to many questions. Here are answers or explanations to some of the questions.
What is a burst fracture?
It is described at spineuniverse.com as an injury where the vertebra is “severely compressed.’’ The term burst, according to the site, implies that the margins of the vertebra are spread out in all directions. That can bruise the spinal cord and cause paralysis or partial neurologic injury. Stewart-Haas Racing officials announced Tuesday — when the injury was first disclosed — that Stewart could move his extremities after the accident.
A burst fracture is seen in a motor vehicle accident or a fall from a height and can cause severe pain. Greg Biffle told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that Stewart was injured in an incident in the dunes of Southern California.
Biffle noted that dunes can be challenging. “The dunes are unpredictable,’’ he told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “ You can land harder on some spots than others. I’ll tell you what, I’ve knocked the wind out of myself, thought I broke my tailbone or back before.’’
What is the L1 vertebra?
It is the smallest vertebra, according to innerbody.com. The L1 vertebra bears the weight of the upper body and acts as a transition between the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae.
The human backbone features a column of 33 total vertebrae with 24 that are moveable. The moveable vertebrae are divided into three regions — cervical, thoracic and lumbar. The L1 vertebra is level with the ninth rib.
Did Tony Stewart have surgery?
Yes. He had fracture stablizing surgery Wednesday.
How long will Tony Stewart be out of the car?
Stewart-Haas Racing said only that the three-time champion will miss the beginning of the Sprint Cup season. No timetable was set.
Who will be in the No. 14 until Tony Stewart returns?
Stewart-Haas Racing has not announced a replacement driver. NBC Sports’ Nate Ryan lists the likely candidates and what makes them an attractive choice.
What happens to Tony Stewart’s team for the Sprint Unlimited?
Tony Stewart was eligible to compete in the Feb. 13 event at Daytona International Speedway as a former Sprint Unlimited winner. NBC Sports checked with NASCAR on Thursday about the team’s eligibility without Stewart driving, and a representative stated they were examining the issue.
Something to consider. There are two drivers eligible for the Sprint Unlimited currently without rides: Jeff Gordon and David Gilliland. If neither finds a ride, that would allow the next two highest in points not yet in the Sprint Unlimited to be eligible for the event (Casey Mears and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.). The next eligible driver then would be Sam Hornish Jr., who does not have a Cup ride.
So is Tony Stewart eligible for a waiver for the Chase?
One of the requirements to make the Chase is that a driver must start every race. NASCAR granted waivers to Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch and Kyle Larson last year for missing races for various reasons — Kyle Busch was injured, Kurt Busch was suspended and Larson missed a race after passing out the day before the event. Nothing has been determined in Stewart’s case and likely won’t until closer to his return.
|
|
|
Post by 221dayton on Feb 5, 2016 9:40:25 GMT -5
What happened to Tony Stewart in the sand dunes from eyewitness Don ‘The Snake’ Prudhomme
Jerry Bonkowski NBC Sports 2/4/2016
Legendary drag racer Don “Snake” Prudhomme gave NBC Sports a first-hand account of Tony Stewart’s accident in the Southern California sand dunes Sunday.
Stewart and a number of current and former racers including Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Ray Evernham, Rusty Wallace and Prudhomme were having a day of fun in the sun and sand when Stewart became separated from the group and went missing for about 90 minutes.
Here’s how Prudhomme described the incident to NBC Sports:
“We were riding these sand rails. We do that quite a bit. We were all together. What really happened is, it isn’t hard to get split off from one another. In other words, if a guy makes a left turn and you’re not watching his flags or there’s dust or something, you can make a right turn and kind of get lost.
“So, we got mixed up and (Stewart) was probably missing for an hour-and-a-half from the pack, at least. He was missing, he was not there. We figured maybe he got hooked up with one of the other guys.
“Then we were stopped and kinda gathered up and started to shoot the s— and asked, ‘Where’s Tony?’ One of the guys (on the dunes) came driving up and said, ‘Hey, one of your buddies is hurt over on the other side of the hill.’
“There was about three of us who went back on our buggies and we came upon him. He was laying there. He got out of it (the sand buggy) and was laying there in the sand on his back.”
Contrary to media reports, Prudhomme said Stewart did not roll his sand buggy. Rather, Stewart apparently caught air in a jump and landed hard.
“What happens in the dunes, there was kind of a big mound and he flew over it and came down hard on the shocks,” Prudhomme said of Stewart. “In other words, it bottomed itself out. What happened then, it drove the seat up into his ass, basically. It was like, BAM! He hit really hard, but we were running pretty fast.
“We pulled up, asked ‘How you doing, dude?’ He was on the ground and said his back’s hurt. We made sure he could move all his legs and everything, so everything was good there.”
Prudhomme said Evernham took charge of the scene. Gordon, car collector Ron Pratte and Prudhomme provided assistance.
“Ray Evernham is a real good guy, a real responsible guy,” Prudhomme said. “He’s been around situations like this before. Basically we got (Tony) into Ron’s cart and Ron drove him real slowly out of there. (Tony) was holding himself up, as if his ass was real sore.
“Ron has a place in the area, so he had his helicopter fly over and land on this pavement because he couldn’t land on the sand. Tony had his arm around my shoulder and had another arm around Ray’s shoulder and Gordon was holding him up by the belt. He was walking real slow and we got him into the helicopter and laid him in the back seat.
“Ray got in the helicopter to go to the hospital. The pilot said he was going to Palm Springs Hospital and got on the radio. Ray was the best guy for the job, so he went with Tony and looked over Tony until midnight.”
Prudhomme defended Stewart’s driving.
“(Stewart) wasn’t driving reckless or crazy or anything else,” Prudhomme said. “He just happened to hit this (sand) ramp and the way it came down, and it was a lot taller or higher up than he probably realized. And it came down and crashed. We went back to get the car he was driving after he got into the helicopter and just fired that baby up and drove it back to the ranch.
“It wasn’t like it flipped over. I’ve heard people say it flipped over. No, it didn’t flip over, it just came down so hard that it messed his back up.”
Stewart was conscious and alert throughout the entire episode, Prudhomme said.
“He was hurting, and we were all concerned about him,” Prudhomme said. “But he wasn’t like knocked out or anything like that. He was totally coherent, totally everything. It’s just his back was screwed up.
“None of us realized how bad it was. The next day Ron and I went over to the hospital to see him and we sat in the room and he was showing us X-rays and s— and talking. Tony’s Tony. He looked at me like he could just get up and walk out of there, but he couldn’t. But he looked great.”
When asked to describe how Stewart looked in the hospital the day after the wreck, Prudhomme borrowed a page from Stewart’s usual comedic playbook.
“He needed a shave and a bath, I know that!” Prudhomme quipped.
“(Stewart) was great. In fact, we were in the hospital and it didn’t look like he was going to have to be operated on. It was just going to be where they were going to put a support on him. He walked around with the doctor early in the morning with a walker.
“So we told him, ‘Wow, that’s cool,’ and he said, ‘Yeah, I don’t think I’ll have to be operated on.’ But apparently when they got him back to Charlotte, these guys, whoever looked at him, felt he needed an operation.
“I just hope he’s going to be alright. He wasn’t doing anything crazy. Those things can run 110 mph pretty easy on the sand. It’s a nice piece of equipment.”
As it turned out, Stewart had traveled a couple of miles in the wrong way, Prudhomme estimated.
When asked about when Stewart was missing, Prudhomme said the three-time Sprint Cup champ was starting to worry if anyone would find him.
“It scared the s— out of us guys,” Prudhomme said. “We were saying that Tony had been missing, and then we’re told Tony’s hurt. It was a ways away from where we were at. We found the trail he was on, went over there, and I said to (Stewart), ‘Dude, how long have you been laying there?’ He said, ‘About an hour-and-a-half.”
But there was a bit of comfort for Stewart, so to speak, Prudhomme added.
“It was the most comfortable place you could lay in the soft sand with a bad back,” he quipped. “In other words, he wasn’t ready to get up. I think he was starting to doze off a little bit (while waiting to be rescued). He just rested there.
“You know Tony, he’s a tough son-of-a-bitch.”
|
|
14fan
Full Member
Posts: 192
|
Post by 14fan on Feb 5, 2016 13:41:06 GMT -5
I found this on ESPN. There are varying degrees of burst fractures, said ESPN college sports and motorsports announcer and reporter Dr. Jerry Punch, who also said he expects Stewart to be out for months. Punch has not talked with Stewart and is not treating him but said the burst fracture is worse than a compression fracture. Denny Hamlin missed five weeks after a compression fracture of his L1 vertebra (the highest bone in the lower back) in 2013. " is basically an explosion of the vertebra, typically the body of the vertebra," Punch said in a phone interview. "Unlike a compression fracture, where it sort of gets pushed down on itself, a burst fracture usually involves multiple fractures and multiple fragments. ... Normally when someone has a burst fracture, you're talking months of healing, you're talking people wearing these big lumbar braces for two to three months."
Stewart will not be able to return until an MRI or a CT scan shows that the bone has healed. Stewart also will need to have rehab to strengthen his back if any of the bone fragments caused weakness to his spinal column, Punch said.
"It's not like a broken arm where you can put a plate in it where you can deal with the pain and get in the car," Punch said. "With the back, it can impact your ability to walk and move the rest of your life. You can't take a chance on hitting something at all."
|
|
|
Post by Tom Pearce on Feb 13, 2016 10:13:55 GMT -5
Possibility of Chase waiver for Tony Stewart
Jared Turner FOX Sports 2/11/16
With #14-Tony Stewart sidelined for an indefinite number of races with an injured back, does the three-time Sprint Cup Series champion still have a chance to make NASCAR's Chase in his final season? NASCAR rules state that a driver must compete in all 26 points-paying regular-season races and be in the top 30 in points to be in the running for one of the 16 playoff slots. The sanctioning body has a history of lifting the perfect attendance requirement, however, in cases where a driver has been out due to injury or another health-related isssue. Such an exception -- formally known as a waiver -- was most recently handed down last season when #18-Kyle Busch missed the first 11 Sprint Cup points races after suffering extensive leg and foot injuries in the XFINITY Series opener at Daytona. Busch ultimately made the Chase by virtue of winning multiple races and climbing into the top 30 in points before the end of the regular season. He also went on to win the championship. Stewart, who is set to retire at season's end, could theoretically make a championship run of his own if NASCAR doesn't require him to enter all 26 regular-season races to be Chase-eligible. While nothing is official, it sounds as though Stewart is likely to receive the same kind of waiver that Busch did, provided he returns to his #14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevy before missing too many races. "I think we're going to treat that just as we did Kyle Busch," NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France said Wednesday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio with host Dave Moody. "There obviously is a balance ... you can't come in the race before the Chase starts and win that race and expect to cruise on in for the final 10 races. So there's some balance, but this is the beauty of the Chase. We have that ability to make some medical and other important exceptions for things like this. But you still have to compete at a high level over a number of events. We will cross that bridge when we can. I hope for his sake, just like I was hoping for Kyle's, that will be sooner rather than later. And the sooner the better in terms of making a decision on our end." France noted that Stewart's accident wasn't a result of any kind of carelessness on his part, which likely makes him a candidate for a waiver.
|
|
|
Post by Tom Pearce on Feb 13, 2016 10:35:41 GMT -5
Stewart-Haas Racing Names Brian Vickers Interim Driver for No. 14 Team During Speedweeks at Daytona
SHR News Archive Feb. 12, 2016
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Stewart-Haas Racing has named Brian Vickers interim driver of its No. 14 Chevrolet SS for all the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events during Speedweeks Feb. 12-21 at Daytona International Speedway.
Vickers will begin driving the No. 14 Mobil 1 Chevrolet today as he and the team prepare for Saturday night’s Sprint Unlimited. On Sunday, Vickers will pilot the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet in qualifying for the Daytona 500 before racing it again on Thursday in the Can-Am Duel and, finally, in the 58th running of the Daytona 500 Feb. 21.
Vickers is a three-time winner in the Sprint Cup Series and was the 2003 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion. His best Sprint Cup finish at Daytona is a second-place result in the 2014 Coke Zero 400. His first career Sprint Cup victory came in 2006 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, the sister track to Daytona. The 2016 Daytona 500 will mark Vickers’ ninth start in the Great American Race.
An interim driver for the No. 14 team in the races following Daytona has not been determined.
|
|
|
Post by 221dayton on Feb 22, 2016 9:27:20 GMT -5
Stewart updates his recovery
MRN 2/22/16
Tony Stewart continues to recover from the back injury suffered in an ATV accident a few weeks ago. He gave an update on his progress with a phone call to the FOX television crew during Sunday’s Daytona 500 broadcast. " don't even get X-rayed again until March 9," Stewart said. "So we're really not going to know what the progress of the bone is. Myself personally I've been up getting around a lot each day, I can tell a noticeable difference each day from the previous day so I am feeling a lot better and [am] on a mission to get back to the race track. That's probably been the hardest part of the last 10 days is not being at the track, not seeing the officials, guys from the other team, everything from Speedweeks."
|
|
|
Post by 221dayton on Mar 5, 2016 10:03:09 GMT -5
Ty Dillon, Vickers will continue to split #14 until Stewart returns
#14-Tony Stewart met with the media Friday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and was asked who would be in his car until he returned. He stated that "Basically the races that Bass Pro is going to be on the car, Ty will be in the car. The rest of the races it will be Brian."(Chevy PR)
SHR has not released a schedule of races that Bass Pro will sponsor.(3-4-2016)
Jayski
|
|
|
Post by Tom Pearce on Mar 9, 2016 16:41:30 GMT -5
Satisfied with the healing they saw in X-rays taken Wednesday, doctors have implemented a rehab program for Tony Stewart, the team announced. There remains no timetable for Stewart’s return, though. The team stated additional evaluations would be needed to determine when Stewart returns. A full recovery is expected for the three-time Sprint Cup champion. Stewart, who has said this is his final season driving in the Sprint Cup Series, has yet to race this year. He suffered a burst fracture of his L1 vertebra during a sand dunes accident on Jan. 31 and had surgery Feb. 3. “The biggest concern is just making sure it heals right the first time,” Stewart said Friday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Brian Vickers drove for Stewart in the Daytona 500 and at Las Vegas. Ty Dillon drove the No. 14 Chevrolet at Atlanta. Stewart said last weekend that Dillon will drive the car when it has Bass Pro Shops as the primary sponsor. Dillon will be in the car this weekend at Phoenix International Raceway. nascar.nbcsports.com/2016/03/09/doctors-pleased-with-healing-of-tony-stewarts-back-implement-rehab-program/
|
|
|
Post by Yogisd1 on Mar 10, 2016 3:28:16 GMT -5
“The biggest concern is just making sure it heals right the first time,” I think he learned something from the injury to his leg a couple of years ago.
|
|
|
Post by 221dayton on Mar 16, 2016 9:05:57 GMT -5
STEWART GIVES HEALTH UPDATE POST-PHOENIX
Staff report NASCAR.com 3/13/16
After a hectic, fender-banging finish Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway, three-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart was among those on pit road basking in the euphoria of the ending and the fruits of his Stewart-Haas Racing organization's first victory of the season.
But Stewart, whose final NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season has been interrupted by a severe back injury, also had good news to savor in terms of his health.
"You're not waiting on me as far as my mind, I'm ready to go," Stewart told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio after Sunday's Good Sam 500, won by SHR driver Kevin Harvick in thrilling fashion. Four races into his final season, Stewart has yet to turn a lap because of a burst fracture of his first lumbar (L1) vertebra -- the uppermost bone in the lower back -- in an all-terrain vehicle accident Jan. 31.
"It's just, we had a good doctor visit this week and the X-rays were good," he added. "It wasn't really to see about the bone growth as much as just making sure the rods and screws were staying in place where they wanted them. They were really happy."
A return to the cockpit is still on indefinite hold for Stewart, who announced last September that 2016 would be his final championship campaign in NASCAR's premier series. The 44-year-old driver did not travel to the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway, but has been at the track the last three weekends in his capacity as a team owner.
At least one of those visits was made against doctors' orders, but he's made progress in other areas unbeknownst to his medical team.
"The funny part was when the doctor told me, or the surgeon cleared me to drive a street car," Stewart said of his most recent doctor's visit March 9. "I didn't have the heart to tell him I've been driving for almost three weeks. I'm not really one to follow the doctor's orders anyway, so we're fine. I've been up all day today and I feel great, so we're excited about where we're at right now."
Stewart told SiriusXM that part of his rehabilitation has involved strengthening his core; he is expected to make a full recovery. Stewart also indicated that his next scheduled doctor's appointment would come in late April.
"So we'll just have to wait and see," Stewart said. "Just have to be patient and doing what I'm doing and he told me to listen to my body, that it will tell me what was too much. I'm pretty hard-headed, so hopefully my back is hard-headed as well and will put up with it. I don't feel like I've been pushing it too hard at all."
|
|
14fan
Full Member
Posts: 192
|
Post by 14fan on Mar 20, 2016 13:26:29 GMT -5
If anybody has seen any recent pictures of Tony he sure looks happy, healthy and great.
|
|