Well, This Sucks For Hamlin

From ESPN: Sprint Cup driver Denny Hamlin suffered a compression fracture of his lower back in Sunday's last-lap crash involving former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Joey Logano at Auto Club Speedway.
Hamlin spent the night at a local hospital in the Fontana, Calif., area and was expected to be released on Monday to fly home to Charlotte, where Dr. Jerry Petty of Carolina Neurosurgery and Spine Associates will evaluate him later in the week.
Team officials said it was too early to determine if Hamlin was at risk of missing a race until after he is evaluated by Dr. Petty. The Sprint Cup series has this weekend off, then resumes its schedule on April 7 at Martinsville Speedway.
Dr. Petty declined to talk about Hamlin's case or compression fractions in general until he has met with Hamlin.
Dr. Joseph Estwanik of Metrolina Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Clinic in Charlotte said without knowing the severity of the fracture it is impossible to give a fair evaluation of whether Hamlin will miss any races.
"It could range from tough it out and get going what you can with minor injuries to as you would expect, surgery," said the chairman of the Sports Medicine Committee for USA Boxing in 1992. "It's not appropriate to give a plan of action."
Estwanik said competing on pain medication in motorsports wouldn't be an option because "on pain medication you can't even drive out of the driveway appropriately. It can not only affect the brain, but reflexes and timing."
Estwanik said he has worked with NASCAR drivers with back issues in the past.
"There are things that can be done ... getting braces, padding and the arrangement for the seat to assist [in reducing pain and discomfort]," he said.  http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/9096962/denny-hamlin-lower-back-compression-fracture