Legacy Motor Club driver Erik Jones was moved to a local medical facility following his crash in the Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday. Though he was checked and released from the infield care center, he opted to get himself evaluated further following pain in his back. He conceded to the media that his back was stretched out and that he expected the soreness to last through the week.
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“I’m sore, it just really stretched it out a lot,” he said after being released from the infield center. “So, it’ll be a long week, just trying to get recovered and feeling better for next week. But I’m alright.” Notably, he’d complained of back pain on the team radio right after his crash in lap 156. His decision to opt for further evaluation came within an hour being released from the infield center.
Shortly before midnight CT, Legacy Motor Club affirmed that Jones was heading back home to North Carolina following a thorough evaluation at a Birmingham hospital. Details of the check are yet to be released. Meanwhile, Jones’ ride, the #43 Toyota Camry XSE, will be taken to the NASCAR Research and Development Center for further evaluation.
The final stage crash in Talladega that left Erik Jones hospital-bound
Jones had made his final pit stop early in lap 151 along with a group of Toyota drivers. The strategy in the 2.66-mile superspeedway was to bypass the Fords and Toyotas when they stopped for fuel. As the group of seven Toyotas filed-up on a single line and drove ahead, an untimely nudge from Bubba Wallace caused chaos. Heading into Turn 3, the contact caused Jones to wiggle out. He drove headfirst into the outside retaining wall and rounded off his race in 35th place.
Hamlin later validated their plan mentioning that the single-line had enough speed to make up for the difference and help them get past the competitors. “I thought we were plenty fast enough,” he said. “As soon as everyone pitted, we were gonna cycle to the front, is what the goal was.” The push from Wallace was a part of the plan to gain more speed but the timing of it was not right.
Jones noted, as reported by Sportsnaut.com, “It was real late to be pushing on the straightaway. I don’t know if (Wallace) was being pushed from behind. I definitely wasn’t pushing (Tyler Reddick) at that point. It was way too late to be pushing. It was definitely overaggressive.” Hamlin agreed with that take.
