American NASCAR race car driver Denny Hamlin suffered a spine fracture in Sunday's crash at the Auto Club Speedway.
Hamlin fractured the L1 vertebra, the first vertebra in the lumbar section. He was released from a Southern California hospital MOnday night.
The racer recalled feeling he "was in a big trouble" when he crashed after he felt a pop in his back. "The position I was in, I couldn't breathe at all," he said, according to USA Today.
"I'm still having a hard time breathing Literally, when I felt a pop, I couldn't move at all and I knew I had to get flat to my back to be able to breathe again. That's why I rushed out and just laid flat on the ground to start breathing again."
Hamlin crashed after making contact with Joey Logano on the last lap on Sunday's Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway. He crashed against the inside wall near the entrance to pit road and the shocking event lifted his car off the ground.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is off until April 5-7.
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