Tony Stewart was released from a hospital in North Carolina on Sunday night, almost a week after a bad wreck that broke his right leg badly.
Stewart went through two surgeries to repair the damage. The first happened the morning after the wreck to stabilize and clean the Grade 2 fracture.
The second happened on Thursday to put a metal rod into his leg in order to stabilize his tibia, reports Sporting News.
With surgery over, doctors sent the NASCAR driver back home to recover. The main question in the minds of fans, friends, family, his crew, and fellow racers is when Smoke will make an appearance in the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing car next.
But the team has made no official announcement yet. SHR did announce that Tony could be out for three or more weeks. But SHR co-owner Gene Haas added that “they always tell you a broken leg takes anywhere from two to four months and I think you just have to go with that.”
Tony Stewart was leading a race at Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa when his winged sprint car flipped with five laps to go. After nearly a week in the hospital, the racer was allowed to go home.
While the NASCAR driver recovers, USA Today notes that the team has yet to announce a long-term substitute for Stewart. While Max Papis filled in for Tony on Sunday and finished 15th, there was no word form SHR on whether Papis would return to the driver’s seat.
Greg Zipadelli, the competition director for the racing team, commented that they currently have “two pretty good options” for next week’s race. He added that there are several factors to be considered, including weather, and sponsors. The team hopes to know by Wednesday which driver will take Tony’s place until he returns.
Tony Stewart isn’t the only NASCAR driver to miss races over an injury suffered in a crash. Denny Hamlin suffered a compression fracture in his lower back earlier this year. However, Tony is expected to be out for much longer than Hamlin was.
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