In Tony Stewart's case, no news seems like extremely bad news.
The NASCAR driver/team owner is recovering at an undisclosed hospital, presumably somewhere near San Diego, after an ATV accident resulted in a back injury, according to Fox Sports.
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"Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, sustained a back injury in a non-racing accident Sunday afternoon," the team said in a statement Tuesday. "Stewart was transported to a local hospital following the accident and is currently being evaluated. Stewart is awake and alert, and able to move all extremities. An update will be provided Thursday afternoon when more information is known."
A report of the ability to move one's extremities, while good to know, still doesn't inspire confidence in the incident being minor. Another red flag is that an update on Stewart's condition won't be given until four days after his accident.
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This latest news leads to the obvious question of whether Stewart will be able to compete in what was supposed to be his final year in NASCAR.
Stewart is not a quitter, but his latest episode suggests he might want to consider transitioning into the next phase of his life. Not next year -- right now.
Late last year, Stewart announced his plans to retire from the NASCAR circuit after the 2016 season.
What is apparent is that the Stewart curse lives on. It began in 2013 when Stewart broke his right leg in a dirt-track race that eventually required four surgeries and had a fifth canceled as doctors decided that the rod inserted to support Stewart's leg should remain.
In 2014, Stewart was involved in an even more traumatic incident -- a fatal crash in upstate New York. The right rear wheel of his car clipped Kevin Ward Jr., who had crashed on the previous lap, got out of his own car and was attempting -- on foot -- to confront Stewart.
Because of those events, Stewart has not won a NASCAR race since June 2, 2013, at Dover International Speedway.
He has finished 29th, 25th and 28th in the final Sprint Cup standings from 2013 to 2015, respectively. In an attempt to go out on a high note, Stewart said he began a diet and exercise regimen for the first time in his career, Fox Sports added.
But Stewart could not exercise away -- or perhaps, exorcise is the more appropriate term -- his run of bad luck. Even if Thursday afternoon's update indicates Stewart will be able to resume racing, the mental toll of the three incidents suggests Stewart's lifestyle change should include a decision to hand the keys over to someone else.
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