NASCAR driver Erik Jones will miss next race after sustaining spinal fracture in wreck

Erik Jones will miss Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway after fracturing his spine in a wreck.

The 27-year-old driver posted a video on social media Tuesday afternoon where he didn’t put a timetable on his return as he’s taking it week-by-week.

His team, Legacy Motor Club, announced in a release that Jones met with specialists in the Charlotte area and learned he had a compression fracture in a lower vertebra. Corey Heim, a top Truck Series driver who is the reserve for two Toyota teams at the Cup level, will pilot the No. 43 Toyota Camry in the Cup race that starts at 2 p.m. Sunday on FS1.

“Erik’s long-term health is our number one priority,” Jimmie Johnson, co-owner of Legacy Motor Club, said in a release. “It will be great to see him at the track Sunday and we intend to give him the time it takes to recover properly. I know Corey will do a great job behind the wheel for the CLUB. In the meantime, our thoughts are with Erik and his wife Holly — they have our total support.”

Jones got collected in a crash during Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway. NASCAR officials announced post-race that Jones had been transferred to UAB Hospital in Birmingham, Ala., after the driver had returned to the infield care center.

He had initially been evaluated and released from the care center, after which Jones told reporters his back was “sore.” Jones went back to the care center, was transferred to the hospital, and at around 12:30 a.m. local time Monday morning, Legacy Motor Club announced he’d been released and was heading home to North Carolina.