Brad Keselowski Racing driver Austin Theriault suffered a 10 percent fracture of his lower back during Saturday night's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the team announced on Sunday morning.
The injury occured when teammate Tyler Reddick got loose and was on the verge of spinning. As Theriault tried to manuver around Reddick the two made contact, and Theriault was slingshotted to the outside wall with which he made heavy, head-on impact. The accident occured in the first 15 laps of the 160 lap race.
Theiraut was able to climb from his truck with the help of safety workers, but immediately went to the ground. The safety crews put him on a backboard and transported him to the infield care center. After being evaluated there, he was airlifted to a Las Vegas area hospital where he inderwent a CT scan.
The portion of the wall that Theriault hit was not protected by a SAFER Barrier.
Statement from Brad Keselowski Racing:
"We would like to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. We would also like to thank the BKR crew for building safe trucks, the LVMS safety crew for quickly helping Austin after the accident, and the team at University Medical Center for their care of Austin."
Theriault was released from the hospital and will return to North Carolina where he will follow up with an orthopedic specialist.
Reddick, meanwhile, was able to recover from the accident to salvage a seventh-place finish in a race where John Wes Townley won based off fuel mileage.
Theriault has run eight races this season in the Truck Series, with his best finish being fourth in the season-opening race at Daytona. He has two top-five finishes this season and four top-10 finishes.
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