Following Erik Jones’ nasty wreck during last week’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, the Legacy Motor Club driver thought he came away from the accident unscathed.
Jones, whose No. 43 Toyota was spun into the turn-three wall at Talladega, was complaining of back pain over the radio after the initial impact.
However, after exiting his race car, he didn’t think much of it.
“It hurt when I crashed. I’ve never broken a bone in my life, so I didn’t even know what that would feel like. I got out of the car on my own, and I was feeling better,” Jones explained. “Obviously, adrenaline is going, and I’m pumped up still. Got to the care center, told them what was wrong – that my back was hurting – they poked and prodded all over me, like they normally do, and I said everything felt OK and I told them multiple times that it felt like muscle strain to me.
“From there, I got up and I was getting around. I walked into the care center. I got up to leave, and was feeling good, was getting released. I talked to a couple of nurses on the way out, and they said if anything changes, just come right back because they were under the same impression – lot of adrenaline – and they could tell that I was hurting a little bit.”
Once his adrenaline from the side-by-side action faded, he felt something was off.
“By the time I got back to the motorhome, after the interviews, I was in more and more pain as time was passing,” Jones said. “Got changed into my clothes, and knew I was going to have to go back. It really hurt, and I had some trouble getting around, so I went back right away, and said there is probably more wrong than what I was letting onto you guys.
“It is really starting to cause me some pain, so then we made the decision to transport.
“We took an x-ray there, saw some possible problems, wasn’t really sure with the equipment, so we went ahead and transferred to UAB after that.”
Jones was transported to UAB (Ala.) University Hospital where further evaluation were made. He was released and returned home to North Carolina on Sunday night.
On Tuesday, however, it was revealed that Jones suffered a spinal fracture and would be sidelined from racing. Fortunately for Jones, he does not need to use a back brace.
Corey Heim, Legacy Motor Club’s reserve driver, was tapped as his replacement for this weekend at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway.
Six days following his injury, Jones is in good spirits and will be with his No. 43 team this weekend to help in any way he can as Heim embarks on his first Cup Series start.
“To be honest right now, I’m feeling pretty good,” Jones said. “As a driver, probably any driver, they want to just hop back in. I would love to say that I could get back in and do it right now. Is that possible? I don’t know. I don’t know how I would truly feel in the car, especially a place like Dover.
“I get pretty sore at night, and when I’m not moving around. My range of motion is a bit limited right now, but the soreness has faded away. It was pretty bad earlier in the week, and I was just resting. By yesterday and today, I’m feeling better and better. There are certain motions that cause a lot of pain. The thing that is probably the worst – it is allergy season, and when I have to sneeze, that hurts pretty bad, but other than that – sitting here right now, talking, I feel pretty good.”
While Jones feels “pretty good,” he still believes his return to the No. 43 Toyota is “week-to-week.”
“My injury is fortunately, on the mild side, so we will just have to see how it is healing up, how I’m feeling – again, I’m feeling better and better every day,” Jones said. “I have an appointment next week, and kind of will make a decision from there.”
According to Legacy M.C. co-owner Jimmie Johnson, Heim will be in the No. 43 next week at Kansas Speedway, should Jones not be cleared to race.
The team requested a medical waiver for the NASCAR Playoffs, should Jones win a race upon returning to competition.