STANFORD, Calif. – Defending USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Series champion Robert Ballou will not undergo surgery for his broken neck, sustained in a non-wing sprint car flip during the Louie Vermeil Classic at Calistoga Speedway, his team announced on Tuesday.
Doctors at the Stanford Medical Center, where Ballou is being treated, determined that the fracture is stable on its own after x-rays and will heal on its own without the need for surgery. The team previously reported in the early hours of Monday morning that Ballou also sustained a thoracic (back) fracture in the crash that was also stable and would not require any surgery.
Ballou is able to move all of his extremities and has been talking regularly with the medical staff at Stanford, according to prior releases from his official Facebook page.
He is anticipated to be released from the hospital soon in order to return home and continue recovering there.
Prior to the incident on Saturday, which occurred under AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series sanction, Ballou had set quick time to kick off the program at 19.385 seconds and was racing for the lead in the feature with Damion Gardner and eventual winner Ryan Bernal.
Ballou also still ranks second in this year’s USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Series standings, behind only Brady Bacon and the No. 69 Hoffman Auto Racing team, with four wins to his credit this year — most recently at Lincoln Park Speedway on July 1.
That standing will likely decrease, however, as Ballou will spend his recovery period out from behind the wheel of his No. 1 MPHG Promotions/Blakesley Auto sprint car.
No timetable has been given for his return to competition.
For more information and updated news on Robert Ballou’s road to recovery, visit www.facebook.com/robertballoumotorsports.
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.
Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 22-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
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