Injured Tony Stewart to miss start of final NASCAR season

FILE - In this Thursay, Jan. 21, 2016, file photo, Stewart Haas Racing co-owner and driver Tony Stewart talks to members of the media during the NASCAR Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour in Charlotte, N.C. The three-time NASCAR champion has been hospitalized with a back injury after a non-racing accident on Sunday and Stewart-Haas Racing is unsure of the extent of his injuries, a team spokesman told The Associated Press, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn, File)

By Associated Press February 4, 2016 1 min read

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Tony Stewart will miss the start of his final NASCAR season after fracturing his back in a nonracing accident.

Stewart-Haas Racing said the three-time NASCAR champion sustained a “burst fracture of the L1 vertebra” when he crashed on an all-terrain vehicle Sunday. He had surgery Wednesday.

An interim driver was not named Thursday. Drivers report to Daytona in one week for the season-opening Daytona 500.