FONTANA, Calif. (WTVR) – Chesterfield native Denny Hamlin was released from a California hospital Monday night and headed back to North Carolina to continue his recovery from a back injury suffered in Sunday’s Auto Club 400.
Hamlin suffered a compression fracture in the L-1 vertebrae in the lumbar region of his back. He will be evaluated by back specialists in Charlotte later this week.
Hamlin posted a photo update that said “All good.”
Hamlin had to be airlifted to the hospital after driver Joey Logano spun Hamlin out and into a wall near the end of Sunday’s race. Hamlin and Logano had been involved in a verbal battle all week after the two fought following a wreck last week in Bristol.
“He probably shouldn’t have done what he did last week, so that’s what he gets,” Logano said.
Denny Hamlin’s girlfriend tweeted an update on Hamlin’s condition.
Thank u everyone for your messages concerning Denny. Darian is keeping us posted. He's alert n awake, main concern is his back #PrayersforDH
—
Jordan Fish (@MissJFish) March 25, 2013
Compression fractures typically take 8-10 weeks to heal. Hamlin’s team has not yet said if he will have to miss any time away from the track. NASCAR is off this coming weekend for the Easter holiday and will return to Martinsville on April 5-7.
Hamlin suffered from bulging discs in his back last year, and missed a start in the Nationwide series because of that back pain. He did not miss a race in the Sprint Cup series and currently sits in 10th place in this year’s points standings.
Click here to read more about Hamlin and the race on ESPN.com.
