TRUCKS: Matt Mills Released from Hospital Two Days After Fiery Homestead Crash
Two days after being caught up in a fiery crash in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Homestead-Miami Speedway, series-regular Matt Mills has been released from the hospital.
The Lynchburg, Virginia-native was held overnight at the hospital Saturday and Sunday, as doctors kept a close eye on his oxygen levels, due to smoke inhalation suffered during the aftermath of the crash.
After being released from the hospital on Monday (October 28), Mills posted a video update to his social media channels, thanking everybody who was supporting him throughout this difficult time.
Glad to be heading home. Appreciate everyone that reached out over the last couple of days. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/lN7Ph8y2fy
— Matt Mills (@mattmillsracing) October 28, 2024
"Glad to be out of the hospital," Mills said in the video. "Still a little raspt, as you can hear, but just, all the overwhelming support, and text messages that I've got just mean so much to me. I definitely didn't like being in the hospital for as long as I was or being in that situation. Having you guys there to support me and help me get through that, just I can't thank you all enough."
In his video message, Mills confirmed that he will be returning to the driver's seat of the No. 42 J.F. Electric / Utilitara Chevrolet Silverado for Niece Motorsports in this weekend's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Martinsville -- the second-to-last event of the season.
After a dismal stretch of three results outside the top-30, Mills is hoping that the final two events of the season at Martinsville and Phoenix can bring some positivity to the No. 42 Niece Motorsports team, as they all prepare to tackle the 2025 NASCAR Truck Series campaign together.
"I'm more motivated than ever to keep doing my job and we've got two more races to try and get a good finish and get some momentum for that 2025 year. So, just ready to get home, get cleaned up, and just continue to recovery process, and see y'all in Martinsville."
The accident in question was brutal-looking and started when Mills made contact in the rear bumper from NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series rookie Conner Jones at the entrance to Turn 3, sending the No. 42 Chevrolet Silverado careening hard into the SAFER Barriers.
As Mills slammed into the wall, a fireball erupted out the rear-end of his Niece Motorsports entry. That burning fire wasn't extinguished until Mills rolled to a stop near the inside wall in Turn 4.
The 27-year-old driver climbed from the vehicle under his own power initially, but eventually sat down in the grass at the inside of Turn 4, waiting for an ambulance to bring him to the infield care center.
Jones, the driver who made contact with Mills to trigger the incident, could be heard on the radio after the incident occurred, shouting: "It's been all [expletive] year. All [expletive] year. He's [expletive] with me, I'm not going to [expletive] do it. I'm tired of it, I'm [expletive] tired of it."
The driver of the No. 66 Ford F-150 for ThorSport Racing would later be penalized by NASCAR for rough driving, to the tune of a two-lap hold. Any additional penalties would be announced in NASCAR's mid-week penalty report.
Once the race finished, Jones released the following statement on his social media channels:
— Conner Jones (@connerjones88) October 26, 2024
Conner Jones is not scheduled to compete in Friday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Martinsville Speedway, according to his website, but will return to the series for the season-finale at Phoenix Raceway on November 8.
