Garrett Alberson announced he will return to Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series competition this weekend at Brownstown Speedway following his injury at Florence Speedway during the North/South 100.

Alberson and his team announced his return on Facebook, “After six weeks out we’ve been given the clearance to head back to the track. We’ll be back in action with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series on Friday!”

“We are excited to be back, and very thankful for to continued support from our team and sponsors! Garrett’s feeling good but we’ll see how Brownstown Speedway goes before we commit to any more races,” the team added. “The merch trailer won’t be at any more races this year (till the dome!) but our online store is open. See ya at the races! “

Alberson was injured during the North/South 100 when an unidentified object struck him in the face 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 is 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.”

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

He underwent surgery back in the middle of August with his family sharing in a post to Facebook, “Surgery went well, the MD was really happy with how Garrett did & how he came out of it.”

“We’re home and resting thanks to all of yall rallying around us, and taking care of us,” they added. “Thank you for the gofund me, Venmo, prayers, the continued support and the good vibes. We’ll take it one day at a time from here.”

Following the injury, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series drivers voted to provide hardship points to Alberson and his team for the races that he missed. In total, he missed three races, The Topless 100 at Batesville Motor Speedway, and then two nights at Port Royal Speedway for The Rumble by the River. The hardship points provided Alberson with 125 points per race, which is the equivalent of a 21st place finish.

Alberson was 7th in the standings after the North/South 100, 740 points behind Brandon Sheppard. Heading into this weekend’s races at Brownstown, he has fallen to 9th and is 935 points behind Sheppard. Both Josh Rice and Brian Shirley have leapfrogged him. Shirley has a 35 point advantage on him while Rice has 60 point lead. Max Blair, who is in 6th, is 350 points ahead.

This weekend at Brownstown Speedway is a doubleheader for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. First, on Friday night will be the 5th Annual CJ Rayburn Memorial that will pay $10,000 to the winner. Then on Saturday night will be the Jackson 100 that will pay $50,000 to the winner.

Additionally, The CJ Rayburn Memorial will be the first event of the $5,000 bonus money. Originally, $5,000 was to go to the highest eligible driver among the top 15 in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series points standings on the finale of the Knoxville Late Model Nationals. However, with that entire weekend being rained out, the bonus money supported by Big River Steel has shifted to the CJ Rayburn Memorial. $5,000 is also on the line for the Jackson 100 supported by UNOH.

NEXT: Dirt Late Model Drivers Share Their Solutions For Competitors Purposely Bringing Out Cautions