Garrett Alberson and his family shared that he will have to undergo surgery and will be out between 6-8 weeks after he suffered facial injuries during the North/South 100 at Florence Speedway with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series.

Alberson was injured with 40 laps left in the 100-lap feature. He was running in 7th and slowed in the top of turn 1 and eventually came to a stop in turn 2. He quickly unbuckled and exited the car. After he got out of the car, he dropped to his knees as he worked to get his helmet off. 

FloRacing’s Dustin Jarrett would report that “Garrett was hit with something out there on the race track: a rock, a mud clot, not real sure. It actually made a laceration above his eye, above one of his eyes. The rock, mud clot, whatever it was. And so they are going to transport him to a local hospital for further evaluation.”

After being evaluated at a local hospital, Alberson’s wife Dani shared that he suffered “a broken nose, a couple facial fractures and a laceration above his eye. The docs did a good taking care of him.”

It’s unclear exactly what struck him, but he and his team shared in a post to Facebook on Tuesday, August 11th, “Given the extent of damage to his face, we have to guess whatever came through the bars was much heavier. His shield did not shatter, it indented and smashed the whole helmet into his head.”

“We are blessed that Simpson Race Products made such a durable helmet, the doctors told us it likely saved his eyes, and his life,” the team added. “The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series officials did a great job getting him taken care of on track, and have reviewed the helmet since.”

In addition to the post they shared the damage the object did to his helmet.

Alberson also informed StockCarReport, “What it was didn’t quite make it through the shield but impacted hard enough to essentially smash the shell/shield into my face/eye. So it was heavy whatever it was.”

In a post on Thursday, August 13th, the family shared more information about the extent of his injuries, “We’ve been back to the hospital in Cincinnati every day since Sunday for follow ups with the specialists. We were told these first five days were critical to ensure Garrett wouldn’t lose his eyesight long term, and his facial bones would heal correctly.”

“That being said, we will not be at Batesville this weekend. Garrett has not been released by doctors.. we haven’t even been released to leave Ohio yet, let alone go home,” they added.

Now, in the most recent update, the family announced, “We’ve been officially told 6-8 weeks before we can return, and Garrett will likely have surgery this week. We don’t know what that means for the rest of the year, but we’ll be discussing with our team.”

The team also thanked everyone who has been supporting them, “Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, we appreciate it, and when the opportunity arises to pay it back, it will have new meaning and a new depth of blessing to be able to do the same for others. … Thank you for your continued support and prayers, we feel them. We appreciate all the time, comments, messages, offers of help & packages yall have sent, you’ve been a blessing in a huge time of need.”

A GoFundMe has also been created and raised nearly $30,000 already to help Garrett and his family “during this time and take of the financial weight off their shoulders.”

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