The crew member was struck by Austin Dillon
On Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series raced at WWT Raceway. In stage three of the race near St. Louis, Missouri, a crew member was injured.
Thomas Hatcher is the front tire changer for the No. 43 driven by Erik Jones.
Hatcher and another crew member got tangled as the car slid to a stop. Hatcher ended up on the ground.
The pit road speed limit at WWT Raceway is 45mph.
The yellow flag was already deployed at the time of the accident. That caution period was extended.
An ambulance made it’s way to pit road and it appeared the crew member was placed on a stretcher before being placed in the ambulance.
“He’s awake. He was out,” the team stated.
The race has since resumed.
Tyler Reddick exited the race early with a brake rotor failure. One of Reddick’s crew members jumped in to substitute for the injured crew member.
Updates
Originally, an early report from a Legacy Motor Club crew member stated that Hatcher was struck by Austin Dillon. After reviewing video, that was not correct.
Hatcher has been transported to a local hospital.
NASCAR issued the following updated, “The crew member involved in the pit road incident has been transported to an area medical facility.”
This post will be updated if more information become available.
Update: Monday
On Monday morning, the team posted thew following update:
“Thomas Hatcher, front tire changer on the No. 43 team who was injured on pit road in yesterday’s NASCAR Cup Series race, was treated and released from St. Louis University Hospital last night. We are relieved he is resting and recovering at home in NC.”
