Carlos Monarrez

Detroit Free Press

Australian driver Matt Mingay had surgery for facial injuries and remained in stable but serious condition at Detroit Receiving Hospital after he crashed during the truck race Saturday at the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix.

Fellow Australian truck racer Paul Morris said after today’s race Mingay had major injuries to his lower jaw.

“He’s in pretty good nick, considering he’s lost a fair bit of his lower face: his jaw and all his bottom teeth,” said Morris, who finished third in the SPEED Energy Stadium Super TRUCKS race. “But he has no permanent injuries. His brain’s intact, his spine’s intact.

“So he’s got a long road ahead. He’s not going to win a beauty contest in the next year or two. So hopefully we’ll get him out of here in the next couple of weeks, get him stabilized, get him back to Australia, get his head rebuilt and he’ll be brand new.”

According to a statement from the Stadium Super Trucks series, Mingay’s family reported that he had surgery Saturday night at Detroit Receiving Hospital.

Mingay’s verified Facebook page posted an update Sunday that called his injuries “serious but non life threatening.”

Mingay’s truck overturned Saturday during the third of 10 scheduled laps. Emergency personnel immediately attended to him and he was taken off the track on a stretcher. Mingay was transported to Detroit Receiving, where a hospital spokesperson said Mingay was initially listed in critical condition. The race was canceled because of a time restriction.

Mingay also had accidents this year in SST races in Adelaide, Australia, and Long Beach, Calif.

Australia’s Matt Brabham won Sunday’s third and final truck race. EJ Viso of Venezuela was second. After the race, both drivers expressed concern for Mingay.

“At the end of the day, we’re all here for Matt Mingay,” Brabham said on the winner’s podium. “We’re all thinking of him.”

There was never any question that the third race would be run Sunday, with the drivers united in their view of forging ahead despite one of their own lying in a nearby hospital bed.

“There wouldn’t be races if something like that happened and everyone didn’t race,” Brabham said. “At the end of the day, I think if something happened to one of us, if something happened to me, I wouldn’t want the racing to stop and I wouldn’t anyone to stop just for me.”

Morris said it was a little harder racing on Sunday.

“For me, that was the biggest thing, once I knew he was stable and he was all right,” said Morris, 48. “But I admit it was a bit tough getting in the truck today. I think if I’m Matt’s (Brabham’s) age you’re not thinking about that stuff. But when you’re pushing 50 years, you definitely do.”

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Contact Carlos Monarrez: cmonarrez@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez.