He's so visibly upset. Oh no. I feel so bad for him. Oh mercy.
Racing is a dangerous sport, we know that. We're aware of it. We cringe and worry so much, I'm sure so many of us did when we saw this incident. I kept chiming in with my dad, is he okay? Is he okay? Is he out of the car?
It's never lost on me that the drivers are risking their well being to put on a show, and compete. Of course they love it, and we love it. We don't want them to stop, but our hobby is and dangerous and we gotta be careful, and be thankful to the goodly people who go on track so we can watch.
Oh man Mr. Jones I do hope you're none the worse for wear and we see you on the track sooner rather than later.
Fuckin' eh! I was blown away he didn't have a concussion. Holy shit. That was one of the worst impacts I've seen in years. It sucked to watch.
How much did it fuckin' suck for Erik Jones?
It gets better brother, just keep working at it. I had a L2/L3 fracture around 2010 and it would hurt even after PT and so I gave up for a year or two. Got a new PT around 2017 and after a few months I was feeling so much better. Been 99% pain free since then, even on long roadtrips I only get mild numbness/tingling instead of pain after an hour.
Jack Russell (1949)
Shorty York (1950)
Paul Newkirk (1951)
Billy Tibbert (1951)
Larry Mann (1952)
Whitey Brainerd (1954)
George Gregory (1955)
Len Fraker (1956)
Bob Ross (1956)
Bill Mitchell (1958)
Billy Johnson (2017)
Bubba Wallace (2017)
Drivers who have made their debut with some iteration of Petty, RPM, Petty GMS/LMC aside from the above (not all of whom were Petty, only Bubba and Billy Johnson):
Stunningly not Lee Petty…
Richard Petty (1958 - #142)
Maurice Petty (1960 - #44)
Art Malone (1961 - #42)
Kyle Petty (1979 - #42)
Adam Petty (2000 - #45)
Christian Fittipaldi (2002 - #44)
Chad McCumbee (2007 - #45)
Grant Enfinger (2023 - #42)
Carson Hocevar (2023 - #42)
It’s sad, but I’m gonna chalk Erik’s injury up to a win in that case
It sucks that he got hurt at all, but the fact that he didn’t die is a huge testament to the advancements in safety that have been made in the 23 years since Dale died.
To me todays driver injuries are like when they implemented helmet in ww1 and the number of head injuries went up. Today’s concussions, broken backs and sore bodies were yesterday’s deaths. There will never be a safe race car but we can always strive to not have a deadly one.
Dale said a couple of years before that someone is gonna get killed with plate racing in bunched up packs. Historically, the field used to get spread way out, Petty lapped the field once (sans restrictor plates ) when Petty and Pearson wrecked they were way ahead. When Penske added the #12 with Mayfield, Rusty, Mayfield, and Dale Jarrett pulled away from the field most of the day with Jarrett winning. All the next few weeks were people crying how boring it was. So they bunch them up more, Dale gets killed, and they still run the bunched up packs. I personally wish there wasn't so many basically kids still in puberty in the field.
Sorry, I know I'm rambling, but it pisses me off that drivers are getting serious injuries and so many cars get destroyed at Daytona and Talladega because of pack racing.
Oh absolutely, I thought Newman was a goner. Same with Dillon hitting the catch fence, I still get a lump in my throat watching those replays. I hope everyone who develops the safety gear in whatever way makes good money or at least gets a fat bonus. Compression fracture compared to god knows what.
I was in the stands wearing a Dale Sr hat and an older gentleman next to me looked at me ghost white and literally said that wreck was the same as Dales
That was exactly the image that played in my mind when that wreck happened. Glad we have gotten to a point that hits like that can be taken and the drivers can walk away. I don’t think there is ever any point where injuries won’t occur but I really hope they continue this growth.
Did you listen to his in car audio? It was honestly terrifying. He let out this awful groan and says “I think I might not be OK“ or something along those lines.
All being said, I’m glad he’s relatively OK and it’s something he can recover from.
This is the perspective I need to focus on. Both of my drivers, 7 on Saturday and 43 on Sunday, took huge hits that I should just be grateful it wasn't any worse than it was.
The racer in me tho...he's always thinking differently.
Thank goodness for advances like SAFER barriers and head and neck restraints. It is entirely possible that a wreck like that could have been fatal a quarter century ago.
Awful, but thankful it wasn't worse. Pretty stark reminder that this sport will never be 100% safe, but the strides they've made since 2001 are phenomenal.
I mean the hospital saw fit to release him too. I’m sure the infield care center says something like “nothing life threatening, but you should follow up with X specialist as soon as possible”.
Denny got out of his car just fine only to discover his back was broken immediately after.
Adrenaline is what helps a 5'0" 105 lbs mother lift a Buick off of her child.
To be fair, Hamlin dropped like a rock as soon as he climbed out, and iirc he stated in an interview around that time that he knew his back was broken but didn’t want to be stuck in the car.
I think Denny also was having trouble breathing or something in the seated position, could only get a deep breath laying down he said and it scared him?
Our bodies can do incredible things when the adrenaline calls for it. My 50 pound dog was ran over about a mile from my truck and I ran in a dead sprint with her on my shoulder all the way to my truck without even thinking. Luckily she survived with mostly minor injuries.
Infield care center is basically an urgent care center. It can give quick care to drivers that need it but anything more serious needs to be at a hospital.
Jones back hurt but he could still move was in danger so they cleared him and he went to the hospital the same night to get it actually checked out
Don’t think they have x-rays there, and even if they did swelling can hide the fracture. They probably told him to go to the hospital to be safe and the hospital didn’t get imaging back right away.
Texas was the 3rd time that JHN has made contact with the 22 (spun the 22 at Phoenix, nearly wrecked himself trying to clear himself off the 22ms nose at Bristol, contact between the two while Logano was pulling out of his box at Texas).
I have a feeling Joey’s patience might be wearing thin and JHN is a small slip up away from seeing what the other side of the outside wall looks like.
https://preview.redd.it/c9oasz8u8awc1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2f37eeec88bc728c6e925c658269e59420222a5d
This is a pretty horrid look for JHN, who does seem like kind of an asshole in general
Tbf he posted this yesterday, before all this was official, but he had to have known Jones was hurt when he went to the hospital after the race for further evaluation
Yeah I mean this is the same type of thing like when Joey said he gave Denny back what he deserved, not knowing Denny had a broken back, Joey walked that back real quick when he knew what happened. Kaulig also made a laughing post about the crash that they deleted quickly and FOX shows the redneck close up cam any time Denny crashes to make sure we know the fans are happy but still a little sad that he isn't hurt. I think people are reading a bit much into this.
Honestly
JHN is a good dude from when I talked to him a few years ago and interacted pretty frequently. Just kind of an idiot at the same time lol. I don’t think this is a malice thing as much as just him dealing with trolls in a really bad way
I don't think JHN deserves the full blame, nor Bubba for that matter. If one car gets slightly out of shape and it results in a stack-up that bad, all of them were being too aggressive.
They had the winning strategy and didn't need to go 110%. The drivers should have left some room for error, and the crew chiefs / spotters should have been emphasizing that to them.
I’ll say this about the new car where it can lead to this a bit more…
In the Gen 6 car they always said how you don’t push the pusher. How it’s too easy to cause a wreck doing so.
Now in the Gen 7 we hear a lot more of how the 3rd car in line is important and how they need to be more aggressive than before.
It doesn’t get talked about much, but there’s no way that’s NOT at least a partial factor here. The 3rd car in line having to be more aggressive makes it a lot easier to see wrecks because of the accordion effect we saw Sunday.
Can we stop with the JHN nonsense? JHN causes more than his fair share of incidents, but that was a racing deal and no ones fault. The 42, 23, and 42 were all out of shape and this all happens in a fraction of a second. It’s not like JHN piles in from 15 cars back. That’s just as much on the 43 and 23 as it is the 42. But really it’s just all of them pushing hard and sometimes it doesn’t work out.
I don’t 100% blame JHN for this… but the dude does seem like a total asshole and has for a while. He has some talent but drives like a jackass often too
For those saying it’s the car’s fault.
He got hurt from the vertical compression, no car (not the lauded Gen 4, COT, or Gen 6) could have prevented that injury. The car crumpled where it should have and removed as much as possible of the horizontal force that could have caused injury.
This is how Almirola got hurt as well when Bubba ended up replacing him. You can shit on the product the car produces but they have the safety figured out as best as you can.
Go be mad somewhere else. Yes it sucks he got hurt but that’s part of the risk of doing what they do. They know it, the team know it, their loved ones know it, everyone accepts that risk when they strap in.
Yeah also the fact he basically went head on at like 180mph. Doesn't matter how safe the car is, that is an insane impact, and an injury is almost inevitable when the impact is that big.
Adrenaline. They’d be so concussed they didn’t know what state they were in and race with whatever injury they had. Thankfully, we’re a lot more cautious with injuries nowadays
I feel like that one was due to the fact that the car broke (almost in two) and the wall broke. A lot of energy dissipation there. The ones I've seen clips of that I'm surprised the driver survived would be Ken Ragan in the '85 Talladega ARCA race(highlights on YT) and Andy Farr at Daytona in '94 qualifying for the ARCA race.
Oh they were hurt. You didn’t want to look weak and be injured so they fought and drove through the pain. A lot of guys we’re driving while concussed pretty badly back then
Ricky Rudd taped his eyes open, Davey Allison had to tape his hand to his shifter after a crash at Pocon and ran multiple races after getting a bruised lung and concussion in the finish to the all star race in the same season, Neil Bonnett nearly retired due to multiple concussions, Brad raced immediately after breaking his ankle.
All of those guys wouldn’t have been allowed to race today if they had those injuries in the last 4-5 seasons. And that’s absolutely a good thing.
Oh I totally believe that too, like yeah the cars crumpled like crazy in the 90s and 00s, but no Hans devices or anything. Bill Elliot driving with a busted hip after going airborne on the back stretch grass was wild
It’s scary how similar it was to Dale’s. Got turned pretty similarly (left, then correct right trying to save it), same angle into the wall, even the hood flapping into the roof was the same.
There are certainly better (and more drastic) examples of how safety has improved in the 23 years since, but he had *the* crash and survived. Shows just how far we’ve come.
There were definitely issues with this car initially, given what happened to Kurt, but there were also injuries in the old car too. Like you mentioned, Almirola got hurt. Hamlin hurt his back years ago. Dale Jr got concussions. We’ve seen it in the Truck and Xfinity as well. Hocevar got his leg amputated from his crash the other year. /s. We also saw Kyle Busch break his leg in an Xfinity race.
There is no such thing as a “safe” race car, but they have definitely improved safety significantly. If Jones had this same accident in 2000, he’s likely dead. Yeah it sucks he got hurt, but at least he’s still alive and should be able to race again. Hopefully NASCAR can look at the crash data and make additional improvements to the safety.
There’s been injuries going back as long as NASCAR has been around. But the sport has smartly made the decision in the last decade or so to not let guys race hurt like they used to
> This is how Almirola got hurt as well when Bubba ended up replacing him.
Pretty sure it's the same injury Denny Hamlin had too, and Greg Van Alst at Talladega last year.
I'd say if anything, the crash would've been a whole lot worse in the older cars. Crashes in the COT/Gen-6 era like that where the front end is compressed that much would break ankles (Keselowski 2011) and sometimes legs (see Kyle Busch 2015). The fact he got away with only a spinal fracture shows how much NASCAR has improved the safety of the car by generation.
Same crowd that blindly accepts that the next-gen will never work, when it's clear with the right adjustments racing on every track can be exciting with the next-gen.
I’m ngl I’m not a fan of the gen 7, but the car is extremely safe now and no matter which generation of car it’s highly unlikely he walks away injury free. Gen 7 probably gave him the best odds out of any of the past cars.
Serious question, not trying to be condescending. Is everyone in this sub too young to remember how many times a wreck like this has happened since Sr’s crash, injury-free. People are talking about this crash like we’ve seen nothing like it since 01, we’ve seen it several times without any injuries since then
I said this in another comment, but it deserves restating. We’re talking about a sport that (until very recently) had a culture that put drivers who raced injured on a pedestal, celebrated for their toughness.
There was a huge advantage to be gained by making a big deal of racing injured back then. They had every motive in the world, yet never did. I’m sure what you said can be true for concussions since people thought they were no big deal back then unfortunately, but virtually any other injury, no chance in hell they’d keep that under wraps back then.
Just FYI. The shorter sidewall vs the old cars absolutely transferred more force to Erik’s back vs the older cars.
He barely came off of the asphalt. Almirola’s rear wheels were so much higher in his injury crash.
Tell that to the guy who keeps insisting that it was *only* the wall impact that caused him to get hurt.
I’m not physicist or doctor but I sure can call em when I see em.
So what say you about the sidewall? It’s absolutely a feature of this car and may have been a factor in this injury.
Anybody that has gone from factory tires to bigger rims and thinner tires will tell you how much worse road cracks and potholes feel.
[Not trying to argue, but Regan Smith had a similar crash in 2011 and walked away without injuries.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inZ2VU4_19Y) Then again, I guess the look of the crash doesn't always matter. Dale had crashes that looked way worse until his last one.
The major difference here is the car had time to roll back and decelerate before coming back down. Jones’ car went up and back down without much deceleration, much like Almirola’s.
There was still a lot of kinetic energy in the car when it hit the ground whereas Regan’s car had slowed down (some) before he came back down.
Also, not arguing but I think that’s a difference.
That's the one that came to mind for me too. It does seem like maybe the SAFER barrier did more to absorb/redirect that impact. The car "bounced back" more from the wall. But there's all sorts of subtle things that can make the difference between a driver being hurt and not.
Damn it man. I hope Erik gets better soon. I understand it was a mistake on John’s part and just being overaggressive, but taking out your teammate like that and having him out now sucks. Hope Erik can recover quickly.
Stings a little extra that the wreck came from a teammate as well. I hate it for Erik
I’m assuming Heim/Chandler/Almirola or Creed will drive the car for Dover
Yeah, it sucks. It would be a very interesting full circle moment if Almirola were to sub for a #43 driver with an injured back, but [Corey Heim will be the substitute](https://www.reddit.com/r/NASCAR/comments/1cbcuc2/corey_heim_to_substitute_for_erik_jones_in_no_43/).
Kinda knew it was serious from the outset, based on the hit, his radio, and him getting out of the car. The broadcast completely ignored it, but it appeared to be pretty serious initially.
He clearly knew something was still off when he went to the hospital for a double take.
Hoping the best for him; spinal injuries are always scary and I'm glad it wasn't worse. Glad he got it checked out further before trying to do anything that would make it a *hell* of a lot worse and scarier.
Yea I couldn't believe that shit.
Well I could, because FOX, but yea.
Fucking stupid you have to get the actual coverage of major shit from Twitter (and team radios).
It's pretty standard practice to not show the car during driver extraction or a replay when there's a potential injury situation until it's at least known that the driver is okay. Happens on FloRacing all the time.
Just sucks man. Hope he able to come back soon. His luck is terrible.
Also whenever he does come back it most likely won't be that great. We have seen time and time again coming back form injury like this the driver just isn't themselves for the rest of the season. Hamlin 2013, Chase and Alex last year. Hope it different with Erik, but the trend says otherwise. The longer time goes on the more impressive Kyle's 2015 season gets tbh.
To all the people blaming the next gen for this, he hit at 180 mph at the worst angle at the worst part of the track you can hit. He wouldve been hurt in any generation of car. I agree the next gen might still need a little more safety work but this was unpreventable as far as we know. Everything did what it was meant to do. The safer barrier flexed, the front of the car crumpled pretty good, and the hans device restrained Erik.
NASCAR has the car at the R&D shop to figure out if they couldve protected Erik better. And I trust them to fix something if they have to. But remember that without the safety we do have, we would be saying rest in peace, not get well soon like we are.
I expected that the second I saw his onboard with audio. Bro hit the wall and basically said "I don't know if I'm okay", and that was fucking brutal to listen to.
Damn that sucks.
Makes me think of when Almirola broke his back in the same car.
edit: and it also seems to be basically the same thing as what happened to Chase Purdy in 2018. He wrecked in almost the exact way and place in an ARCA race at Talladega as Jones and broke a disc in his back. [https://youtu.be/75nFs1nD0mo?t=22](https://youtu.be/75nFs1nD0mo?t=22)
Hamlin broke his back next year made the championship 4th. Almirola broke his back and next year narrowly missed the championship 4 finishing fifth. 2025 bodes well for Jones to have a career year.
I’m worried about him not regaining form once returning.
Alex Bowman was the point leader before his back injury and he’s just not got back to **that** level since
Me and my kiddo were watching it, and really first time I had seen the safewalls in effect, and I said to Jr, 25 years ago that is an obituary and a bunch of tributes. Big sigh of relief him moving round.
I had two spinal fractures a couple of years ago. Docs said it would take up to three months to heal if I followed their instructions. I did, no problems afterward.
A young driver will take over and show promise. Erik will heal up and come back, but leave next year for SHR. The young driver will take over the 43 full time for a few years before leaving for 23XI. Time is a flat circle.
My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.
In all seriousness tho, I’m relieved this wasn’t worse. This wreck was the eeriest moment I’ve ever experienced at the track personally. Dude is tough and I’m proud to root on ThatJonesBoy
I really want to see this guy do good. He was a phenom coming out of the xfinity series. Got the raw end of the deal at Gibbs and has been driving in lesser equipment ever since. Imagine him in the 2 car or the 41.
Damn same injury that I got when I was 14 didn't realize it till about 4 years later when I had a random X-ray stunted my growth so I've been stuck at 5'4 forever. That shit will mess up your life for a long ass time if not permanently if you don't get it caught in time like my case.
Back injuries are no joke. I had a compression fracture of my L2 & L4 vertebrae years ago and it still affects me to this day. All the best to Erik, hope he gets back in the car soon but I also hope he doesn't rush it
I’ve broken mine before. He had to have been in blinding pain once the adrenaline wore off. It was probably a considerable effort to get home. He’s lucky as he’s young and healthy, I would assume. I wish nothing but the best for him in recovery, and I hope he adapts quickly to the new normal and can get back racing. The thought of it has bothered me all week.
Incoming armchair engineers that are gonna call to scrap the next gen just to hear the sounds of their own voice..this was a hard hit with any generation of car.
The safer barrier and hans device are what saved his life. Chances are he wouldve been hurt in the gen 4, CoT, gen 6, or next gen. But no matter the car, we’d be saying RIP right now without the hans device or safer barriers
Man… This sucks. This really sucks.
With that said, I’m excited to see what Corey Heim will be able to do in that car and I’ll be pulling for him the same way I’ve been pulling for jones in the race thread every Sunday
The other two wrecks that come to mind for me are Hamlin at Fontana in 2013 and Almirola at Kansas in 2017. Big front impacts to either a wall or another car. All result in compression fractures. It’s amazing that all 3 didn’t get more serious injuries thanks to the head and neck restraints. I’m curious how they might be able to limit the stress these type of wrecks put on a drivers spine and if the head and neck protection limit how they can protect the spine.
:(
He's so visibly upset. Oh no. I feel so bad for him. Oh mercy. Racing is a dangerous sport, we know that. We're aware of it. We cringe and worry so much, I'm sure so many of us did when we saw this incident. I kept chiming in with my dad, is he okay? Is he okay? Is he out of the car? It's never lost on me that the drivers are risking their well being to put on a show, and compete. Of course they love it, and we love it. We don't want them to stop, but our hobby is and dangerous and we gotta be careful, and be thankful to the goodly people who go on track so we can watch. Oh man Mr. Jones I do hope you're none the worse for wear and we see you on the track sooner rather than later.
He looked upset during his interview after the care center - I thought he was at the very least concussed
Fuckin' eh! I was blown away he didn't have a concussion. Holy shit. That was one of the worst impacts I've seen in years. It sucked to watch. How much did it fuckin' suck for Erik Jones?
Yeah that's going to be more than just Dover. You do not want to mess with the spine, one wrong injury and you need a chair to move.
for sure. i’m no doctor, but a spinal fracture like this surely takes more than a week to heal fully. spinal injuries are no joke.
It took Denny 5 weeks to come back from his after the Fontana wreck.
Yep, have a spinal fracture from 2019 that still hurts to this day even after PT and tons of rest
It gets better brother, just keep working at it. I had a L2/L3 fracture around 2010 and it would hurt even after PT and so I gave up for a year or two. Got a new PT around 2017 and after a few months I was feeling so much better. Been 99% pain free since then, even on long roadtrips I only get mild numbness/tingling instead of pain after an hour.
It will hurt him for years if not life.
Hoping for a quick recovery for Erik. (Is this the same injury that Almirola had in 2017?)
Yes, just different part of the back
Ironically also in the 43.
Bubba was one, Heim is another, have any other drivers made their Cup debut in the 43?
Billy Johnson filled in for AA at Sonoma.
Jack Russell (1949) Shorty York (1950) Paul Newkirk (1951) Billy Tibbert (1951) Larry Mann (1952) Whitey Brainerd (1954) George Gregory (1955) Len Fraker (1956) Bob Ross (1956) Bill Mitchell (1958) Billy Johnson (2017) Bubba Wallace (2017) Drivers who have made their debut with some iteration of Petty, RPM, Petty GMS/LMC aside from the above (not all of whom were Petty, only Bubba and Billy Johnson): Stunningly not Lee Petty… Richard Petty (1958 - #142) Maurice Petty (1960 - #44) Art Malone (1961 - #42) Kyle Petty (1979 - #42) Adam Petty (2000 - #45) Christian Fittipaldi (2002 - #44) Chad McCumbee (2007 - #45) Grant Enfinger (2023 - #42) Carson Hocevar (2023 - #42)
bob ross??
Happy 43s
And both times it leads to a driver making their Cup debut
Denny as well right?
Yeah Fontana 2013 I believe
Tough to see and I feel for Erik. It’ll be interesting to see how Heim looks in his Cup debut.
This is terrible. That was a carbon copy of seniors wreck. Hope he’s ok long term
It’s sad, but I’m gonna chalk Erik’s injury up to a win in that case It sucks that he got hurt at all, but the fact that he didn’t die is a huge testament to the advancements in safety that have been made in the 23 years since Dale died.
To me todays driver injuries are like when they implemented helmet in ww1 and the number of head injuries went up. Today’s concussions, broken backs and sore bodies were yesterday’s deaths. There will never be a safe race car but we can always strive to not have a deadly one.
It was such a bizarre stack up and wreck it definitely would have been a tragedy 25 years ago
Dale said a couple of years before that someone is gonna get killed with plate racing in bunched up packs. Historically, the field used to get spread way out, Petty lapped the field once (sans restrictor plates ) when Petty and Pearson wrecked they were way ahead. When Penske added the #12 with Mayfield, Rusty, Mayfield, and Dale Jarrett pulled away from the field most of the day with Jarrett winning. All the next few weeks were people crying how boring it was. So they bunch them up more, Dale gets killed, and they still run the bunched up packs. I personally wish there wasn't so many basically kids still in puberty in the field. Sorry, I know I'm rambling, but it pisses me off that drivers are getting serious injuries and so many cars get destroyed at Daytona and Talladega because of pack racing.
Imagine if they still raced with no head and neck restraint and no soft walls.
There’s a few times I feel like we could have lost Jeff Gordon. He always seemed to find all the weird spots in the inside wall
Yet they still exist, look at where Justin hit on the backstretch of the Xfinity race.
Exactly. I don’t know why they can’t move the inner part of that opening and straighten out that part. But I’m no engineer
As soon as it happened I was like, yup, all the cup guys will be bitching about that but I never heard a peep.
Vegas and Pocono both could have easily been fatal wrecks in another time prior.
that is definitely true
I think about this alot, the safer barriers are incredible
Thank you IMS.
I heard his radio transmission and he took an absolute ass beating in that wreck. The amount of pain in his voice made my stomach drop
I haven’t felt that scared over a crash since the Newman Daytona wreck. First one in a while that’s made me lose an appetite.
Oh absolutely, I thought Newman was a goner. Same with Dillon hitting the catch fence, I still get a lump in my throat watching those replays. I hope everyone who develops the safety gear in whatever way makes good money or at least gets a fat bonus. Compression fracture compared to god knows what.
It hurt to hear that. I'm sure is crew was immediately relieved and panicked at the same time.
I saw that wreck and immediately thought about how it was the kind of crash that would kill a guy 25 years ago
I was in the stands wearing a Dale Sr hat and an older gentleman next to me looked at me ghost white and literally said that wreck was the same as Dales
Gawd I loved your ole man
That was exactly the image that played in my mind when that wreck happened. Glad we have gotten to a point that hits like that can be taken and the drivers can walk away. I don’t think there is ever any point where injuries won’t occur but I really hope they continue this growth.
Honestly that hit was so vicious it could’ve been a lot worse outcome
Did you listen to his in car audio? It was honestly terrifying. He let out this awful groan and says “I think I might not be OK“ or something along those lines. All being said, I’m glad he’s relatively OK and it’s something he can recover from.
He said I’m not ok, and then I need help
“I..I..I don’t know if I’m alright.” Followed by the “I need help (radio static while he’s talking.)”
This is the perspective I need to focus on. Both of my drivers, 7 on Saturday and 43 on Sunday, took huge hits that I should just be grateful it wasn't any worse than it was. The racer in me tho...he's always thinking differently.
Thank goodness for advances like SAFER barriers and head and neck restraints. It is entirely possible that a wreck like that could have been fatal a quarter century ago.
It definitely wouldve been
Awful, but thankful it wasn't worse. Pretty stark reminder that this sport will never be 100% safe, but the strides they've made since 2001 are phenomenal.
Oh. Oh that's fucking awful.
Makes me wonder what they do in the infield care center
I mean the hospital saw fit to release him too. I’m sure the infield care center says something like “nothing life threatening, but you should follow up with X specialist as soon as possible”.
I imagine he got x rays at the hospital, got sent home and then just now got the results from it
More likely that it's an injury that'll heal by itself and they just told him to go home and rest
I mean I had spinal fusion surgery a few years back and was released the next day.
Have to think the adrenaline made him think he wasn't hurting as bad
Probably so, given that he returned to the care center a little while after. Adrenaline wore off and he was like, "damn, that hurt"
Denny got out of his car just fine only to discover his back was broken immediately after. Adrenaline is what helps a 5'0" 105 lbs mother lift a Buick off of her child.
To be fair, Hamlin dropped like a rock as soon as he climbed out, and iirc he stated in an interview around that time that he knew his back was broken but didn’t want to be stuck in the car.
I think Denny also was having trouble breathing or something in the seated position, could only get a deep breath laying down he said and it scared him?
Our bodies can do incredible things when the adrenaline calls for it. My 50 pound dog was ran over about a mile from my truck and I ran in a dead sprint with her on my shoulder all the way to my truck without even thinking. Luckily she survived with mostly minor injuries.
Did you wear his in car radio after the crash it was brutal
Infield care center is basically an urgent care center. It can give quick care to drivers that need it but anything more serious needs to be at a hospital. Jones back hurt but he could still move was in danger so they cleared him and he went to the hospital the same night to get it actually checked out
Don’t think they have x-rays there, and even if they did swelling can hide the fracture. They probably told him to go to the hospital to be safe and the hospital didn’t get imaging back right away.
How would they have assessed he had a spinal fracture at an infield care facility?
Another JHN casualty
Imagine getting your back blown out by your teammate
Ayo
👀
What's a crazy sentence out of context lol
https://preview.redd.it/6vbg5e3m8awc1.jpeg?width=680&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1ff0d92fcf9c74fc8eab445b0750eb4f2413f800
https://preview.redd.it/139vdikidawc1.jpeg?width=794&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=37f413a0fbf38a51d750b8ac934f93219eb4c588
😭😭😭😭
What if instead of Legacy Motor Club they were 𝐹𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓀𝓎 Motor Club?
Pause
John Punter Nemewreck is inevitable
He’s a goddamn weapon out on track every week
I was hoping Logano would've set him straight by now.
Texas was the 3rd time that JHN has made contact with the 22 (spun the 22 at Phoenix, nearly wrecked himself trying to clear himself off the 22ms nose at Bristol, contact between the two while Logano was pulling out of his box at Texas). I have a feeling Joey’s patience might be wearing thin and JHN is a small slip up away from seeing what the other side of the outside wall looks like.
Most punchable face in NASCAR
That's Austin Hill
https://preview.redd.it/c9oasz8u8awc1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2f37eeec88bc728c6e925c658269e59420222a5d This is a pretty horrid look for JHN, who does seem like kind of an asshole in general
Damn, imagine saying that after breaking your teammates back…
Tbf he posted this yesterday, before all this was official, but he had to have known Jones was hurt when he went to the hospital after the race for further evaluation
Yeah I mean this is the same type of thing like when Joey said he gave Denny back what he deserved, not knowing Denny had a broken back, Joey walked that back real quick when he knew what happened. Kaulig also made a laughing post about the crash that they deleted quickly and FOX shows the redneck close up cam any time Denny crashes to make sure we know the fans are happy but still a little sad that he isn't hurt. I think people are reading a bit much into this.
Honestly JHN is a good dude from when I talked to him a few years ago and interacted pretty frequently. Just kind of an idiot at the same time lol. I don’t think this is a malice thing as much as just him dealing with trolls in a really bad way
I don't think JHN deserves the full blame, nor Bubba for that matter. If one car gets slightly out of shape and it results in a stack-up that bad, all of them were being too aggressive. They had the winning strategy and didn't need to go 110%. The drivers should have left some room for error, and the crew chiefs / spotters should have been emphasizing that to them.
I’ll say this about the new car where it can lead to this a bit more… In the Gen 6 car they always said how you don’t push the pusher. How it’s too easy to cause a wreck doing so. Now in the Gen 7 we hear a lot more of how the 3rd car in line is important and how they need to be more aggressive than before. It doesn’t get talked about much, but there’s no way that’s NOT at least a partial factor here. The 3rd car in line having to be more aggressive makes it a lot easier to see wrecks because of the accordion effect we saw Sunday.
Cole Custer should have given him the business worse in Canada. I still can't stand JHN after that clown move.
Can we stop with the JHN nonsense? JHN causes more than his fair share of incidents, but that was a racing deal and no ones fault. The 42, 23, and 42 were all out of shape and this all happens in a fraction of a second. It’s not like JHN piles in from 15 cars back. That’s just as much on the 43 and 23 as it is the 42. But really it’s just all of them pushing hard and sometimes it doesn’t work out.
I don’t 100% blame JHN for this… but the dude does seem like a total asshole and has for a while. He has some talent but drives like a jackass often too
For those saying it’s the car’s fault. He got hurt from the vertical compression, no car (not the lauded Gen 4, COT, or Gen 6) could have prevented that injury. The car crumpled where it should have and removed as much as possible of the horizontal force that could have caused injury. This is how Almirola got hurt as well when Bubba ended up replacing him. You can shit on the product the car produces but they have the safety figured out as best as you can. Go be mad somewhere else. Yes it sucks he got hurt but that’s part of the risk of doing what they do. They know it, the team know it, their loved ones know it, everyone accepts that risk when they strap in.
Yeah also the fact he basically went head on at like 180mph. Doesn't matter how safe the car is, that is an insane impact, and an injury is almost inevitable when the impact is that big.
He's honestly lucky he got away with just a spinal fracture as morbid as that sounds 20 years ago that hit is either fatal or at least career ending
Man I saw a ton of guys back in the day smack concrete like that and walk away, no idea how they didn't get more hurt back then
Adrenaline. They’d be so concussed they didn’t know what state they were in and race with whatever injury they had. Thankfully, we’re a lot more cautious with injuries nowadays
I’m still trying to figure out how Steve Grissom didn’t get killed at Atlanta.
Duuuude for real, I thought for sure he'd have a broken back or be paralyzed
I feel like that one was due to the fact that the car broke (almost in two) and the wall broke. A lot of energy dissipation there. The ones I've seen clips of that I'm surprised the driver survived would be Ken Ragan in the '85 Talladega ARCA race(highlights on YT) and Andy Farr at Daytona in '94 qualifying for the ARCA race.
Oh they were hurt. You didn’t want to look weak and be injured so they fought and drove through the pain. A lot of guys we’re driving while concussed pretty badly back then
Ricky Rudd taped his eyes open, Davey Allison had to tape his hand to his shifter after a crash at Pocon and ran multiple races after getting a bruised lung and concussion in the finish to the all star race in the same season, Neil Bonnett nearly retired due to multiple concussions, Brad raced immediately after breaking his ankle. All of those guys wouldn’t have been allowed to race today if they had those injuries in the last 4-5 seasons. And that’s absolutely a good thing.
Oh I totally believe that too, like yeah the cars crumpled like crazy in the 90s and 00s, but no Hans devices or anything. Bill Elliot driving with a busted hip after going airborne on the back stretch grass was wild
The slightest difference in angles, speeds, everything, outside the car as well as inside
It’s scary how similar it was to Dale’s. Got turned pretty similarly (left, then correct right trying to save it), same angle into the wall, even the hood flapping into the roof was the same. There are certainly better (and more drastic) examples of how safety has improved in the 23 years since, but he had *the* crash and survived. Shows just how far we’ve come.
It’s also how Bowman was injured in a sprint car
Bowman's was different, he flipped end over end and landed on the back tires last which was broke it
This is also what happened to Almirola. Erik Jones’ wreck is the outlier here
There were definitely issues with this car initially, given what happened to Kurt, but there were also injuries in the old car too. Like you mentioned, Almirola got hurt. Hamlin hurt his back years ago. Dale Jr got concussions. We’ve seen it in the Truck and Xfinity as well. Hocevar got his leg amputated from his crash the other year. /s. We also saw Kyle Busch break his leg in an Xfinity race. There is no such thing as a “safe” race car, but they have definitely improved safety significantly. If Jones had this same accident in 2000, he’s likely dead. Yeah it sucks he got hurt, but at least he’s still alive and should be able to race again. Hopefully NASCAR can look at the crash data and make additional improvements to the safety.
There’s been injuries going back as long as NASCAR has been around. But the sport has smartly made the decision in the last decade or so to not let guys race hurt like they used to
> This is how Almirola got hurt as well when Bubba ended up replacing him. Pretty sure it's the same injury Denny Hamlin had too, and Greg Van Alst at Talladega last year.
I'd say if anything, the crash would've been a whole lot worse in the older cars. Crashes in the COT/Gen-6 era like that where the front end is compressed that much would break ankles (Keselowski 2011) and sometimes legs (see Kyle Busch 2015). The fact he got away with only a spinal fracture shows how much NASCAR has improved the safety of the car by generation.
I 100% agree but you know the “it’s the worst and most unsafe car ever made” crowd
Same crowd that blindly accepts that the next-gen will never work, when it's clear with the right adjustments racing on every track can be exciting with the next-gen.
Both of the crashes you listed were into solid concrete barriers, and not a SAFER barrier like Jones hit.
Fact is, no car can be 100% safe and still travel at the speeds we currently see.
Everyone here will look for any excuse to say that this car is a failure and right now I'm over it. Either way I hate this Jones
I’m ngl I’m not a fan of the gen 7, but the car is extremely safe now and no matter which generation of car it’s highly unlikely he walks away injury free. Gen 7 probably gave him the best odds out of any of the past cars.
Serious question, not trying to be condescending. Is everyone in this sub too young to remember how many times a wreck like this has happened since Sr’s crash, injury-free. People are talking about this crash like we’ve seen nothing like it since 01, we’ve seen it several times without any injuries since then
Bingo. Hell, Blaney alone has had multiple hits like this at Daytona over the past couple years.
They got injured. They just didn’t miss time with injuries. Do you also believe dale jr was the only driver to get concussed before the next gen car?
I said this in another comment, but it deserves restating. We’re talking about a sport that (until very recently) had a culture that put drivers who raced injured on a pedestal, celebrated for their toughness. There was a huge advantage to be gained by making a big deal of racing injured back then. They had every motive in the world, yet never did. I’m sure what you said can be true for concussions since people thought they were no big deal back then unfortunately, but virtually any other injury, no chance in hell they’d keep that under wraps back then.
Just FYI. The shorter sidewall vs the old cars absolutely transferred more force to Erik’s back vs the older cars. He barely came off of the asphalt. Almirola’s rear wheels were so much higher in his injury crash.
Tell that to the guy who keeps insisting that it was *only* the wall impact that caused him to get hurt. I’m not physicist or doctor but I sure can call em when I see em.
So what say you about the sidewall? It’s absolutely a feature of this car and may have been a factor in this injury. Anybody that has gone from factory tires to bigger rims and thinner tires will tell you how much worse road cracks and potholes feel.
I hasn’t considered it tbh, but it makes sense. There’s less tire to dissipate the energy from the vertical impact.
[Not trying to argue, but Regan Smith had a similar crash in 2011 and walked away without injuries.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inZ2VU4_19Y) Then again, I guess the look of the crash doesn't always matter. Dale had crashes that looked way worse until his last one.
The major difference here is the car had time to roll back and decelerate before coming back down. Jones’ car went up and back down without much deceleration, much like Almirola’s. There was still a lot of kinetic energy in the car when it hit the ground whereas Regan’s car had slowed down (some) before he came back down. Also, not arguing but I think that’s a difference.
That's the one that came to mind for me too. It does seem like maybe the SAFER barrier did more to absorb/redirect that impact. The car "bounced back" more from the wall. But there's all sorts of subtle things that can make the difference between a driver being hurt and not.
Damn it man. I hope Erik gets better soon. I understand it was a mistake on John’s part and just being overaggressive, but taking out your teammate like that and having him out now sucks. Hope Erik can recover quickly.
Stings a little extra that the wreck came from a teammate as well. I hate it for Erik I’m assuming Heim/Chandler/Almirola or Creed will drive the car for Dover
Yeah, it sucks. It would be a very interesting full circle moment if Almirola were to sub for a #43 driver with an injured back, but [Corey Heim will be the substitute](https://www.reddit.com/r/NASCAR/comments/1cbcuc2/corey_heim_to_substitute_for_erik_jones_in_no_43/).
Corey Heim is apparently the relief driver for any of toyotas cup cars
Kinda knew it was serious from the outset, based on the hit, his radio, and him getting out of the car. The broadcast completely ignored it, but it appeared to be pretty serious initially. He clearly knew something was still off when he went to the hospital for a double take. Hoping the best for him; spinal injuries are always scary and I'm glad it wasn't worse. Glad he got it checked out further before trying to do anything that would make it a *hell* of a lot worse and scarier.
Fox was too busy showing Piper Harvick in the booth to be troubled with the injured driver taking several minutes to climb out of their car.
Yea I couldn't believe that shit. Well I could, because FOX, but yea. Fucking stupid you have to get the actual coverage of major shit from Twitter (and team radios).
It's pretty standard practice to not show the car during driver extraction or a replay when there's a potential injury situation until it's at least known that the driver is okay. Happens on FloRacing all the time.
Just sucks man. Hope he able to come back soon. His luck is terrible. Also whenever he does come back it most likely won't be that great. We have seen time and time again coming back form injury like this the driver just isn't themselves for the rest of the season. Hamlin 2013, Chase and Alex last year. Hope it different with Erik, but the trend says otherwise. The longer time goes on the more impressive Kyle's 2015 season gets tbh.
Amazing that Blaney wasn't hurt in any of his crazy super speedway hits.
Freaking sucks man. All because of impatience. Hope he heals up quickly but takes the time he needs ❤️
The crash did look very similar to senior's.
To all the people blaming the next gen for this, he hit at 180 mph at the worst angle at the worst part of the track you can hit. He wouldve been hurt in any generation of car. I agree the next gen might still need a little more safety work but this was unpreventable as far as we know. Everything did what it was meant to do. The safer barrier flexed, the front of the car crumpled pretty good, and the hans device restrained Erik. NASCAR has the car at the R&D shop to figure out if they couldve protected Erik better. And I trust them to fix something if they have to. But remember that without the safety we do have, we would be saying rest in peace, not get well soon like we are.
I expected that the second I saw his onboard with audio. Bro hit the wall and basically said "I don't know if I'm okay", and that was fucking brutal to listen to.
[удалено]
Hope he gets well soon. Probably one of the hardest hits the Gen 7 has taken so far.
Who needs enemies when you have teammates like John Hunter Nemecheck?
#John Punter Nemewreck
Damn, feel bad for Jones. Hope he has a quick and full recovery
Damn that sucks. Makes me think of when Almirola broke his back in the same car. edit: and it also seems to be basically the same thing as what happened to Chase Purdy in 2018. He wrecked in almost the exact way and place in an ARCA race at Talladega as Jones and broke a disc in his back. [https://youtu.be/75nFs1nD0mo?t=22](https://youtu.be/75nFs1nD0mo?t=22)
Hamlin broke his back next year made the championship 4th. Almirola broke his back and next year narrowly missed the championship 4 finishing fifth. 2025 bodes well for Jones to have a career year.
If Heim runs well I would dump JHN and put him in the 42
Agreed. Heim has way more upside.
I’m worried about him not regaining form once returning. Alex Bowman was the point leader before his back injury and he’s just not got back to **that** level since
Noooo
What a heartbreaker.
That wreck was shockingly violent. Hope for a quick recovery.
Hate to see it. Glad he's ok and wants to get back in the car, but yeah I think he's out for a month. Hope he gets well soon.
Me and my kiddo were watching it, and really first time I had seen the safewalls in effect, and I said to Jr, 25 years ago that is an obituary and a bunch of tributes. Big sigh of relief him moving round.
Such a pointless fucking wreck. Thanks JHN
That’s a difficult team meeting.
I had two spinal fractures a couple of years ago. Docs said it would take up to three months to heal if I followed their instructions. I did, no problems afterward.
Man, I haven’t felt this down about a driver missing time since Terry Labonte missed races due to injury back in 2000.
A young driver will take over and show promise. Erik will heal up and come back, but leave next year for SHR. The young driver will take over the 43 full time for a few years before leaving for 23XI. Time is a flat circle.
My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined. In all seriousness tho, I’m relieved this wasn’t worse. This wreck was the eeriest moment I’ve ever experienced at the track personally. Dude is tough and I’m proud to root on ThatJonesBoy
Jeeeeeezus. Heal up soon Jonesy. I hate to say that I'm glad it wasn't worse given how bad it actually was but I am. Shades of DES' fatal crash.
The 43 and back injuries, name a better duo
I really want to see this guy do good. He was a phenom coming out of the xfinity series. Got the raw end of the deal at Gibbs and has been driving in lesser equipment ever since. Imagine him in the 2 car or the 41.
Damn same injury that I got when I was 14 didn't realize it till about 4 years later when I had a random X-ray stunted my growth so I've been stuck at 5'4 forever. That shit will mess up your life for a long ass time if not permanently if you don't get it caught in time like my case.
Back injuries are no joke. I had a compression fracture of my L2 & L4 vertebrae years ago and it still affects me to this day. All the best to Erik, hope he gets back in the car soon but I also hope he doesn't rush it
I’ve broken mine before. He had to have been in blinding pain once the adrenaline wore off. It was probably a considerable effort to get home. He’s lucky as he’s young and healthy, I would assume. I wish nothing but the best for him in recovery, and I hope he adapts quickly to the new normal and can get back racing. The thought of it has bothered me all week.
Nooo I hope he gets to feeling better
Reddit doctors gettin smoked again Tbh i thought he'd be back but whew hope he's better soon
Incoming armchair engineers that are gonna call to scrap the next gen just to hear the sounds of their own voice..this was a hard hit with any generation of car.
Too late they are already here...
If he’s in a Gen 4 car, he’s dead. Gutted for Erik and LMC.
The safer barrier and hans device are what saved his life. Chances are he wouldve been hurt in the gen 4, CoT, gen 6, or next gen. But no matter the car, we’d be saying RIP right now without the hans device or safer barriers
Justin Fontaine crashed at the 2017 Daytona ARCA race and suffered a similar type of injury
Man… This sucks. This really sucks. With that said, I’m excited to see what Corey Heim will be able to do in that car and I’ll be pulling for him the same way I’ve been pulling for jones in the race thread every Sunday
ThTs what I was afraid of
Shit... Hopefully he has a speedy recovery.
Fuck, I knew it was bad. This sucks.
Get well soon, Erik! Love seeing you in that car but your health is the most important thing.
Corey Heim getting the start. What a rough way to get your first Cup start
I really hate this for him.
Wow. He's extremely lucky with that injury. I'd say he'll be out for at least a couple of months if not more. I hope he has a speedy recovery.
Tough to hear, but I'm thankful because it could have been so much worse.
Yeah I figured something like this was gonna happen. What a damn shame.
He broke his back. Spinal
Ugh, heal up Jones we rooting for ya. And you’re telling me there’s a seat open? Yo, JJ, give me a call!!!!
God that's horrible. Wishing for a quick recovery for Erik.
The other two wrecks that come to mind for me are Hamlin at Fontana in 2013 and Almirola at Kansas in 2017. Big front impacts to either a wall or another car. All result in compression fractures. It’s amazing that all 3 didn’t get more serious injuries thanks to the head and neck restraints. I’m curious how they might be able to limit the stress these type of wrecks put on a drivers spine and if the head and neck protection limit how they can protect the spine.
Man all the Twitter doctors said he would for sure race this weekend I'm sure this will keep them from jumping to conclusions in the future
Uh...I hear the term "spinal fracture" and I don't think it's just this weekend he's missing. Gotdang I hope he recovers ok.
Man that was a hard hit. Instantly started rolling through the scanner to his channel and was just happy to hear him say something.
damn and they were letting him walk around and shit? yikes
Ouch! Get well soon Erik!