Tony Stewart is nothing if not stubborn.
The three-time Sprint Cup Series champion, who broke his back last week in an ATV while driving in sand dunes near San Diego, could miss as few as three months, according to Godfather Motorsports.
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After suffering a burst fracture of his L1 vertebra, Stewart has set a target date of May 21 to return for his final NASCAR season.
Stewart "underwent surgery Wednesday to remove dangerous bone fragments from the area of the fracture and stabilize the affected vertebra," Godfather Motorsports reported. "While many victims of burst fractures are forced to wear a stabilizing brace for 2-3 months post-op, the procedure performed on Stewart reportedly will not require a brace.
"In fact, sources say Stewart was on his feet and walking by Friday. Sources close to the situation say that on the advice of his doctors, Stewart and his team have set a tentative return date of May 21, the day of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway."
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The report contradicts a USA Today Sports report that said the injury could keep Stewart out six months.
"The typical patient wears a plastic brace for six to 12 weeks," neurosurgeon Jim Lowe said. "In my patients, I normally go with a brace 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The early recovery and rehabilitation is limited by that, but he still could do some rehab with walking and leg exercises.
"Typical patients with similar issues usually need a year to recover," he said, "but race car drivers and other athletes 'who see it as imperative to get back soon' might be back to more-or-less normal activities in six months."
Meanwhile, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will take Stewart's place at this year's first NASCAR race, the Sprint Unlimited, a 25-car shootout at Daytona on Feb. 13., according to Autoweek.
Already, Stewart's 2016 is drawing comparison to 2015 Sprint Cup Series winner Kyle Busch, who missed his first 11 races with a broken leg and foot suffered the day before the Daytona 500. Busch eventually returned and ended up winning the 2015 championship.
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