Top 5 Injury Comebacks in NASCAR

Top 5 Injury Comebacks in NASCAR

By Brian Cotnoir

With NASCAR set to return later this month following a drawn out hiatus due to COVID-19, one of the biggest story lines has to be the return of driver Ryan Newman following his horrific wreck coming to the finish line of the 2020 Daytona 500.   I’m sure the grand stands are going to erupt with joy when Newman makes his first laps on the track, and hopefully he finds success and can return to Victory Lane, but that got me thinking about, what are some of the other greatest injury recoveries in NASCAR.  Here is my pick for the Top 5 Injury Comebacks in NASCAR

5.) Brian Vickers

Vickers didn’t suffer an injury per say, but he did have an unfortunate incident that put his racing career in limbo.  The 2003 Busch Series Champion and 2-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner had a lot going for him during the 2009 season.   He led his team Red Bull Racing to their first victory in the NASCAR Cup Series at Michigan and also made that years Chase for the Cup for the 1^st time with the team.   Vickers had hoped to continue where he left off in 2010, but after just 11 races he would be forced to miss the rest of the season.

Vickers had been diagnosed with blood clots in his legs and around his lungs.  He’d have to wait until 2011 to return to the Cup Series.   Vickers would have a lackluster season back in Red Bull, before the team was shut down and ultimately sold to Ron Devine.  Instead of racing for the newly formed BK Racing, Vickers took a part-time ride in the Aaron’s Sponsored #55 Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing.  In 2013, he’d sign a full-time deal to run in the Grand National Series for Joe Gibbs racing while once again competing for Michael Waltrip Racing in the Cup Series on a Part-Time Basis.

Vickers pulled off a major upset Victory at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway when he held off 3-time Cup Series Champion Tony Stewart to score his 3^rd career victory in the NASCAR Cup Series, and lead to him getting a full-time ride with MWR in the 2014 season. 

Vickers would unfortunately suffer more setbacks as his blood clots returned and forced him to miss the last 3 races of the 2013 Grand National Season.  He would run the full season in 2014 for MWR without issues, but in 2015 his blood clots once again more-or-less signified the end of his full-time racing career.  

4.) Rick Carelli

Rick Carelli was a pioneering driver in the NASCAR Truck Series.  Although not a Championship contender, he frequently ran in the Top 10 during races, and even won 3 races in his first four seasons in the Truck Series.   In 1999, his season was off to a good start; he won a race at Mesa Marin Speedway, but 2 weeks later, he suffered the worst wreck of his life.

Carelli wrecked on lap 12 at Memphis Motorsports Park; he suffered a Basilar-Skull Fracture (the same injury that would take the lives of NASCAR drivers Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin Jr., Tony Roper, and Dale Earnhardt Sr. over the next 2 years).  Despite all odds, Carelli would pull through and would return to racing full-time in the Truck Series with a new team in 2000.  Carelli would win that seasons race at Richmond Raceway, giving his team’s owner Dale Phelon his first (and what would ultimately be his only) win as an owner in the Truck Series.

Phelon would have to shut down his team after 4 races of the 2001 season, but what Rick Carelli accomplished at Richmond the following season was so much more important.

3.)  Kyle Busch

NASCAR driver Kyle Busch’s 2015 season got off to a horrible start.  In the season opening Grand National Race at Daytona, Busch was involved in a multi-car accident and his car slammed head on into a solid concrete wall.  He had suffered significant injuries to his feet and legs, and would be forced to pull out of the Daytona 500 the following day.

Busch wound up missing the first-third of the season while he recovered, but thanks to a waiver granted by NASCAR he was still eligible to qualify for the Chase for the Cup.  Busch would go on a dominant stretch in the summer winning 4-out-of-5 races, including the Brickyard 400, and was able to qualify for the Chase for the Cup.  Busch shocked the world when he won the season finale at Homestead, clinching his first Championship in the Cup Series!   Some fans griped about how he only qualified for the Chase because of a Waiver, and he only won the Championship on a technicality, but I respectfully disagree.  The fact that he came back from injury to win a Championship, just speaks volumes of what how tremendous Kyle Busch is as a driver.

2.)  Steve Park

Now, you may be wondering how if winning a championship after suffering injuries not good enough for number one on this list?  Well I’ll give you a good reason:  Steve Park’s done it twice!

As a rookie in the Cup Series suffered a horrible accident during practice at the Atlanta Motor Speedway caused by a tire failure, and 3 hard hits into the concrete wall (this was at a time before the SAFER barrier was mandatory in NASCAR).  Park sustained a broken leg, a broken collarbone, and a broken shoulder blade, and would be forced to miss most of the season (14 races in total).  Two years later at Watkins Glen (Park’s home track) he would score his 1^st career victory in the Cup Series driving for legendary NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt. 

The following season was a horrible season for Park, he lost his team owner & friend Dale Earnhardt Sr. in a wreck on the last lap of the Daytona 500, but he’d score an emotional victory the following weekend at Rockingham.  Park was actually very competitive, during the season, but tragically he’d be involved in a freak accident during a Grand National race at the Darlington Raceway.  Park’s steering wheel came off while under caution, and he was hit in the driver’s side door driver Larry Foyt his driving at a high speed to catch up for a restart.  Park suffered a traumatic brain injury and several broken ribs.  He would have to miss the rest of the 2001 and the start of the 2002 season.

This eventually would cause Park to lose his full-time ride in the Cup Series after the 2003 season.  He’d race full-time in the Truck Series in 2004 & 2005 for Orleans Racing, and he won his only truck race at California Speedway in 2005.

1.)  Ernie Irvan

The greatest injury comeback in NASCAR History has to be the comeback of driver Ernie Irvan.  In 1994, Irvan was in a close battle with Dale Earnhardt Sr. for the driver’s title.  He had 3 wins on the season and 13 finishes in the Top 5.  The battle for the drivers title looked like it was going to come down to the wire, and then it all came to a crashing halt.  During practice at the Michigan International Speeway, a cut tire caused him to smack the concrete wall at over 170 MPH.   Irvan would be extricated from his car and airlifted to a nearby hospital.  He was only given a 10% chance of surviving the night.

Irvan would miss the rest of the 1994 season—his championship hopes dashed—as he clung to life in a hospital.  Irvan would slowly show signs of improvements, but would still end up missing the most of the 1995 season, only qualifying for 3-of-the-final-5 races of the season.

Irvan would return to full-time competition in 1996, and at that summer’s Race in Loudon, New Hampshire Irvan would score his first NASCAR victory in over 2 years.  One year later, Irvan would cap of his impressive comeback by winning at the track, where 3 years prior he almost lost his life!   Irvan scored an emotional victory, and ultimately the final win of his NASCAR career.

Irvan would be involved in another serious practice crash at Michigan Speedway in 1999, but was able to leave the hospital a lot sooner.  The crash did however force Irvan to make the decision to retire from NASCAR.  He finished his career with 15 career Cup Series wins (including the 1991 Daytona 500).