Saturday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway saw a frightening crash on lap 20 when Jordan Anderson’s truck burst into flames before hitting the inside wall, with Anderson unbuckling himself and escaping from the burning vehicle moments before impact. He suffered second-degree burns to his neck, face, right arm, hands, and both knees, necessitating medical attention.
He was airlifted to the nearby University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital before being discharged later in the day. His treatment continued over the next two days which included a brief hospital stay on Sunday. He intends to visit the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center’s burn ward on Tuesday for further evaluation.
“Thank you everyone for the texts, calls, and prayers,” Anderson posted on social media Monday. “Haven’t been able to be on my phone, but I am so humbled by the overwhelming support.
“Had to go to the ER last night for some side effects, so heading to the Wake Forest burn center tomorrow. Getting better by the day!”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. lent his private plane to Anderson’s family for easier travel on Saturday night. Anderson described the generosity as having “made the trip home a lot easier and now have been trying to get as much rest as possible.”
Anderson’s rehabilitation is made easier by his part-time competition, meaning he is not obliged to rush himself back to the track. Talladega, where he was classified thirty-sixth, was his sixth Truck entry of 2022, while has only entered one Xfinity Series race at Michigan. Since his aborted 2021 Xfinity Rookie of the Year campaign, he has almost exclusively focused on running his Jordan Anderson Racing team, fielding the #3 truck on a limited basis, the #31 Xfinity car full-time for Myatt Snider, and the #32 Xfinity vehicle for himself and Austin Wayne Self in select events.