Photo Credit: Noel Lanier
Stewart-Haas Racing announced that the intern replacement will be announced on Friday, February 12 at 11:30am EST at Daytona International Speedway.
The three-time Sprint Cup Series Champion will miss the season-opening Daytona 500, as well as possible other events as a result of a burst fracture to the L1 vertebra in his back. Stewart sustained the injury as a result of an accident while driving a dune buggy in the desert just east of San Diego.
SHR states in the statement that following the incident on Sunday, Stewart was transported to local hospital and promptly evaluated. Through the whole process, he was able awake and alert, and able to move all extremities. The statement goes on to read that, “Stewart flew to North Carolina Tuesday evening and was admitted to a Charlotte-area Hospital for further evaluations”. Surgery was then performed on Wednesday.
Stewart is expected to make a full recovery and return to the seat of the No. 14 Chevrolet at SHR, but no timetable has been determined as of yet.
OnPitRoad.com ran a pair of stories following the incident with accounts from Greg Biffle and Don Prudhomme on what happened. Those can be read by clicking their respective names.
Stewart announced during the second half of the 2015 season that the upcoming 2016 season would be his last year behind the wheel full-time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Stewart finished 28th in points this past season with three top-10 finishes.
