Motor sports fans were glued to their televisions and social media sites Jan. 31, after learning that three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart had been injured in an off-road accident in southern California.
Details were sketchy early, but fans soon learned that Stewart had suffered a broken back, forcing him to miss the season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 21. They also found out Stewart had been driving a high-horsepower dune buggy and it had flipped over in the accident, and more than two hours passed before Stewart was found by others participating in the outing.
Surely, it was a high-speed, dramatic crash with debris flying and flames spewing, right?
Apparently not.
On Friday morning, Stewart used the Periscope app to talk with fans while he walked on a treadmill in his home in the Charlotte, N.C., area.
Stewart said at the time of the accident, his dune buggy was going only 5 mph when it plunged over a steep, 20-25 foot dip in a dune and "face planted."
"It's pretty hard to make a story about breaking your back sound cool when you were only going 5 mph," Stewart said on Periscope. "I've never been hurt so bad only going 5 mph in my life."
Stewart said he had become separated from his dune buggy group, which included current and former NASCAR drivers Jeff Gordon, Greg Biffle and Rusty Wallace, ex-crew chief Ray Evernham, and retired drag racing champion Don "The Snake" Prudhomme. After the crash, he lay in the sand for two hours before his friends found him. He had no radio and no cell phone service to call for aid.
"They were rock stars getting me out," Stewart said of the others in his group.
Last week, Stewart underwent surgery on his lower back, where two small rods and six screws were inserted.
"We've been through a lot worse than this," he said. "This is just another bump in the road."
It's the third time in recent years that Stewart has been hurt. He broke his leg in 2013 during a sprint car race and missed 15 Sprint Cup races. He missed three races in 2014 after he was involved in a sprint car accident that claimed the life of another driver on a dirt track in upstate New York.
"I was joking with someone that we need an exorcism to get rid of these demons that keep getting me hurt," he said.
Who? What?
Veteran motor sports columnist Monte Dutton said NASCAR's new Chase-like format changes for its lower divisions, the Xfinity Series and the Camping World Truck Series, is so complicated and confusing, it reminded him of the "Who's on First" routine by Abbott and Costello:
"Who advanced in the Xfinity Series?"
"Who, What, When and How."
"Who, What, When and How advanced in the Xfinity Series?"
"Yes."
"What about Where?"
"Where?"
"Yeah. Bobby Lee Where. He didn't advance?"
"Oh, he advanced, all right. In the Truck Series."
"I thought he was in the Xfinity Series."
"That's his brother."
He said it
From Brad Dickson of the Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald:
• "ESPN college football analysts are planning to spend Valentine's Day with loved ones: SEC schools."
• "According to a report, before he was released the Dallas Cowboys' Joseph Randle gambled on sports. If he bet on the 2015 Dallas Cowboys, he's already been punished enough."
• "The Cincinnati Reds are erecting a statue of Pete Rose. No truth to rumors the statue will be rolling dice."
• "Elton Brand has come out of retirement to play for the Philadelphia 76ers. Because he's playing for the 76ers, now he's just semi-retired."
Sports on 02/14/2016