Chris Hacker, driver of the no. 45 Charred Flags Chevrolet, is a young racer in NASCAR yet to get his breakthrough. He has enrolled in both the Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series on a part-time basis. But chances of snagging his first-ever victory this year came crashing down recently after a gruesome accident.
On Wednesday afternoon, Hacker’s Ford Mustang ran into a semi-truck with incredible impact. He was en route to Daytona for a mechanic’s duty when this mishap occurred, following which he was taken to Prisma Health Medical Center in Columbia, SC. Although the initial diagnosis was mild, CT scan results were bleak and indicated a long hospital stay for Hacker.
Chris Hacker is doing worse than formerly presumed
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What can be worse than the doctor making you optimistic at first, and sharing bad news soon after? Nothing at all, especially when the 2024 NASCAR season will kick off soon at full speed. Chris Hacker suffered injuries in an accident last week, and it turns out his health is quite critical.
Hacker’s friend, Nathan Blasdell, who can be spotted often in the NASCAR garage area, recently tweeted about how medical results shattered Hacker’s hopes. “Even for the first couple hours at the hospital, he was in high spirits and was hoping to either be released same day or following day. This optimism changed quickly though upon immediate results of his CT scan which showed his condition was critical. He showed numerous internal injuries and was rushed into an emergency exploratory laparotomy surgery.”
Blasdell detailed some vivid insights into Hacker’s health. “It turns out Chris had the following injuries: Multiple thoracic fractures in spine: T1, T2, T3, and C7 (found during MRI), Ruptured spleen which had to be removed, A collapsed lung, Internal bleeding, Lacerated Kidney, Lacerated adrenal gland.”
He further said, “Following the removal of his spleen, he was updated to stable condition, but he had to have a nasogastric tube put in as he hasn’t been able to eat on his own since the day of the accident.”
In some good news, Hacker recently shared that he was able to get off of the nutritional tube. “Got my NG tube removed this morning and was cleared to start eating again. Felt like it was only fair to share my first #BoneAppleTeeth since the incident 🖤”
Update on @chrishacker_
Despite being knocked unconscious on impact of the accident, when he was transported to the hospital on Wednesday, they initially thought he had escaped with just a possible concussion and some cuts and bruises. Chris was extremely shaken up but he was… pic.twitter.com/87OKNu0QEF
— Nathan Blasdell (@nateismfof) February 18, 2024
Chris Hacker has faced multiple challenges over the past few months, and we hope he gets through all of them.
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Chris Hacker had recently been part of a heartwarming story of recovery. Last year in August, NASCAR suspended him for DWI on August 17. However, he paved his way back into his passion through the NASCAR Road to Recovery Program. The racing series reinstated him in October. As a coincidence, Hacker tweeted his 6-month sobriety milestone on the very day fate played a cruel trick on him.
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6 months sober, 6 months healthy 🖤
I can’t thank everyone who’s supported me along the way enough. pic.twitter.com/QTS5EFxzT2— Chris Hacker (@chrishacker_) February 14, 2024
Hacker has not announced any concrete driving plan for 2024 yet. But for now, he aims to dedicate his entire attention to recovery, which would stretch for a long time.
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Since Hacker’s injuries are much worse than reported, this will surely put a dent in his racing ambitions for the time being with the young driver looking at a long recovery road ahead. Let’s hope the driver makes it back soon.