4 NASCAR drivers who overcame major injuries to return to the track ft. Tony Stewart

NASCAR drivers can go up to 200 mph on the straightaways and experience a 3-5 G-force. In such high-octane racing, uncontrollable wrecks become a part of these drivers. Though the cars are designed to withstand the force of such crashes, the racers are still susceptible to major injuries and in worst-case scenarios, fatalities.

Crashes on NASCAR tracks have included many legends who overcame critical injuries and later returned to the oval tracks. Some tuned back into racing showing their prowess and winning championships while others decided to hang up their helmets soon after.

Here's a list of a few drivers who jumped back into their racecars after going through treatment and therapy:

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#1 Tony Stewart — broken leg in 2013

Tony Stewart, a semi-retired racer, currently competes in the NHRA for his eponymous team. Stewart is also co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing which is set to close its operations by the end of the 2024 season.

In August 2013, Stewart was involved in a 360-winged sprint car crash in Iowa, a day after his 21st Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway. The former Cup driver broke two bones in his right leg and ended up missing the rest of the season, including the playoff round for which he had qualified.

In his career span of almost 18 years, the 53-year-old accumulated 49 wins and three drivers' championship titles in the NASCAR Cup Series.

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#2 Kyle Busch — broken right leg and left foot in 2015

Kyle Busch drives the #8 Chevy for Richard Childress Racing. He crashed on the inside concrete wall of the Daytona International Speedway in the season-opener of the 2015 Xfinity Series season. Busch broke his right leg and his left foot in the impact. He ended up missing the first 11 races of the regular Cup season. However, he bounced back with four wins and a season finale win in Homestead Miami. In a remarkable comeback, the 39-year-old claimed his first Cup Series championship the same year.

The two-time Cup Series champion has a storied career, being one of the winningest drivers in the history of NASCAR and securing at least a win in each of his full-time Cup seasons. However, as things stand, #8 Busch is still without a win for the 2024 season as NASCAR inches toward the playoff rounds.

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#3 Dale Earnhardt Jr. — concussion-like symptoms in 2016

NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove the #88 Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports before retiring in 2017. A lingering concussion-like symptom which was believed to be caused by a wreck at Michigan International Speedway in June 2016 forced Dale Jr. to miss the remainder of his season.

However, the two-time Daytona 500 winner returned to the Cup Series at Daytona next year but 2017 ended up being his last full-time Cup Series season. Dale Jr., a two-time Xfinity Series champion, now competes part-time in NASCAR's secondary division and is set to join the broadcasting team of Amazon and TNT with the advent of NASCAR's new media rights deal starting in 2025.

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#4 Richard Petty — dislocated shoulder in 1970

Richard Petty, one of the greatest NASCAR drivers in the sport's history was once involved in a terrifying crash at Darlington Speedway in 1970. The seven-time Cup Series champion slammed the inside concrete wall of the pit road following a flat tire and flipped several times. Petty dislocated his shoulder as a result of the accident. This incident also led NASCAR to mandate the implementation of window nets in the driver's door.

Known as 'the King', Petty missed a couple of races after the crash in the 1970 Cup Series season and ended the year in fourth place. The NASCAR legend would go on to win his third championship title the following season.