CONCORD, N.C. -- Tony Stewart was in desperate need of a clean and easy race. The reigning Nextel Cup champion ended up breaking the tip of his right shoulder blade.
Stewart wrecked 33 laps into the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday night, apparently because of a flat right tire, and his Chevrolet slammed hard into the wall. It took safety personnel several minutes to help Stewart get out of the car, and he was wincing in pain and favoring his right side when he finally made it through the window.
Stewart was taken directly to the hospital for evaluation. He was seen and released, and a team spokesman said he broke the tip of his right shoulder blade.
Stewart -- who slipped to fourth in the standings, 209 points behind Jimmie Johnson -- already was nursing a bruised right shoulder from a hard crash Saturday night in the Busch Series race that sent him to the hospital for X-rays. They were negative and Stewart was cleared to compete in the longest race on the NASCAR schedule.
"He's going to be sore -- it's the same spot he hit last time," team president J.D. Gibbs said. "There isn't much you can do about it. He needs rest and need to take care of it, ice it, wrap it up real well."
Crew chief Greg Zipadelli was concerned about Stewart's health and stamina before the event began.
"They thought that he had chipped or cracked his scapula bone, but it wasn't that, it was just a bad bruise and swollen," Zipadelli said. "Like a cracked or bruised rib, it just takes time to heal."
So the team put Mike Bliss on standby in case Stewart couldn't make it to the end. With physically demanding tracks on the upcoming schedule, Zipadelli wants Stewart at full strength.
"We've got to look at the big picture right now, and the big picture is that we keep him healthy and in the top five in the points," he said.
Miscommunication
Dale Jarrett's race didn't even last a full lap because of an apparently miscommunication with his new spotter.
Eddie D'Hondt was the regular spotter, but when he was fired as general manager of Robert Yates Racing last week Jarrett had to find a new one. But he and the replacement didn't share the same terminology, resulting in Jarrett's race-ending wreck on the first lap.
Jarrett apparently didn't understand a command to "hold your line" and was hit from behind by Robby Gordon. It sent Jarrett spinning into the wall, and out of the race with a 43rd-place finish that dropped him from 12th to 16th in the standings.
He left the track without commenting.
