NASCAR champion Tony Stewart hospitalized with back injury

Less than three weeks before NASCAR heads to Daytona, Tony Stewart finds himself in the hospital following an ATV accident.

The Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner and driver is able to “move all extremities” and is now being held at an undisclosed hospital.

An additional update will be provided Thursday when more information is known, SHR said.

Stewart, 44, missed a third of the 2013 season with a broken leg sustained in a sprint-car accident.

Stewart is about to embark on his final full season as a Sprint Cup driver before heading into retirement after the 2016 campaign.

“We have received word from Stewart-Haas Racing of Tony Stewart’s accident and injury”, NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France said in a statement. Stewart has 48 career victories, but hasn’t seen the checkered flag since being involved in a 2014 sprint-car accident that took the life of another driver.

NASCAR teams are scheduled to arrive next week at Daytona International Speedway for season-opening Speedweeks and the February 13 Sprint Unlimited exhibition.