NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Joey Gladstone is currently at his home in Virginia recuperating from multiple injuries suffered in a testing accident last weekend in South Carolina. Gladstone was riding a 208-mph nitrous-equipped Suzuki when the incident occurred.

On April 9, Gladstone posted the following on his Facebook page: “Hey guys, I wanted to give an update before I try and get some sleep. I have [four] broken ribs, a bruised lung, broken collarbone, broken shoulder blade, road rash absolutely everywhere, and a concussion. I’m messed up pretty bad[ly], but the doctor said I got extremely lucky to be able to see another day. I just wanted to thank everyone who has reached out to me and sent up some prayers, you guys are awesome! I’ll start messaging back soon, but this post is already painful enough to do without skin on my fingertips. Goodnight everyone, thanks again for the prayers.”

A day later, Gladstone provided an additional update where he analyzed the accident with regard to some of the safety gear he was wearing. He also noted that his pain level was under control and that he’d be discharged on April 11 to continue his recovery at home.

Gladstone’s accident came a day after fellow Pro Stock Motorcycle riders David Barron and Chris Bostick also went down in separate incidents during the same test session. Both riders were on Reed Racing-prepared EBR bikes and neither was seriously injured. In the wake of the incident, Bostick, who reached his first NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle final last year in Indianapolis, also took to Facebook to update his fans following the accident.   

“Definitely not the way you want to end your day of testing/preparing for the upcoming Las Vegas race," Bostick wrote. "I can’t say enough great things about the motorcycle Cory Reed and Joey Gladstone supplied me with. It went straight as an arrow and had unbelievable power. I went a personal best of 6.83 seconds, on my first full-track pass. I definitely got banged up a bit but have to give a shout-out to my Sponsor Kelsey Gordon and his amazing NJK Leathers, they did their job of staying between my body and the pavement. The biggest injury was my pride, just part of the sport. Thankfully Jesus was watching over me as He always is. When you fall down in life, pick yourself up and learn from it. To be your best, you have to keep doing your best.”

There is no timetable for Gladstone’s return, and Bostick immediately withdrew from this weekend’s Denso Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas. Barron has confirmed that he's "good to go" and will race in Las Vegas aboard his UniversalMedSystems.com EBR, the same bike he raced in Gainesville. Gladstone's team owner, Cory Reed will race in Las Vegas on the Vance & Hines powered four-valve Suzuki that he debuted last month in Gainesville.