Nascar Race Today

Three-time Nascar Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart broke two bones in his lower right leg when he crashed during a dirt track race in Oskaloosa, Iowa.

Stewart, 42, underwent surgery yesterday after breaking his right tibia and fibula, and will be replaced by another driver from the Stewart-Haas racing team in this week's Nascar Sprint Cup event in Watkins Glen, New York.

Stewart's injuries come less than two months after former Nascar driver Jason Leffler died in a dirt track crash in Swedesboro, New Jersey. While Stewart is a team owner and one of the top drivers on Nascar's top tier, he schedules about 70 short track events each year, according to Nascar's website.

Stewart was leading last night's winged car sprint event in Oskaloosa with five laps remaining when another car lost control and caused Stewart's car to flip. Stewart had also been involved in a 15-car pileup in a short track race on July 16 in Canandaigua, New York, and flipped his car five times in another dirt track event on July 29 in Ontario, Canada.

To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net

Enlarge image