Add Brian Brown to the list of injured drivers in what's been a vicious last month for Sprint Car racing.

The 46-year-old's wife Heather revealed on social media in the wee hours Friday morning that Brown is recovering from a broken right hand and a broken left wrist following Thursday's qualifying night crash at the 64th annual NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey's.

Brown, who was treated and released by an area hospital, suffered his injuries from a violent heat race wreck where he flipped end-over-end when battling JJ Hickle for the final transfer spot went awry. Brown later shared on social media Friday morning his Nationals are over.

Fighting for a transfer goes wrong.

Brown has climbed from the car. pic.twitter.com/TwXjJ0e6yG

— World of Outlaws (@WorldofOutlaws) August 8, 2025

@BrianBrown21 pic.twitter.com/upRqTmlrHe

— Heather Brown (@ibaheather) August 8, 2025

"Welp not the news we wanted to have on Thursday night of the Knoxville Nationals but things could have been so much worse after seeing the race car," Brown's wife Heather posted on X. "One right broken hand and one left broken wrist and a few cuts and bruises but we have left the hospital

"I cannot thank you guys enough for all the messages and texts. I apologize so very much for not getting back to anyone but it is truly overwhelming trying to figure out how in the hell I am gonna have to wipe this guy's butt. Just had to throw that in there. I promise you there is no better nurse than this sweet little guy that was by his side the entire time."

Brown took to social media for the first time Friday morning since the news, saying he's "so heartbroken and gutted" for his No. 21.

Unfortunately after last nights wreck @knoxvilleraces I have suffered a broken left wrist and a fractured right hand.

With that being said our 2025 Knoxville Nationals are over.

So heartbroken and gutted for our whole @caseysgenstore | @FVPparts team as I felt like we had…

— Brian Brown (@BrianBrown21) August 8, 2025

Until the vicious flip with three laps left of the third heat race, Brown was about to put himself in position for a terrific points night. Transferring through the heat race for the night's feature would have started Brown eighth and given him a shot at starting in the first two rows of Saturday's Championship event and possibly even the front row.

But that reality came crashing down when Brown tried overtaking Hickle around the outside of a closing window exiting Turn 2 on Lap 6 of his heat. Some will blame the wreck on Hickle for not leaving enough room to his outside for Brown. Others will say Brown was at fault because he could've avoided contact by checking up enough rather than forcing his car through a tight window around Hickle's outside.

Tensions escalated between the crews of Brown and Hickle, the two sides who saw the incident differently. Hickle eventually lost the final semifeature transfer spot to Sammy Swindell. While Hickle expressed empathy toward Brown in his interview with DIRTVision, he also knew he can't take full credit the wreck.

"It's not really about what I left him. Obviously, he crashed so I didn't leave him enough room," Hickle said. "I can't see behind me. If he's not all the way up next to me, I can't see the right rear of these race cars. The guy in back — it's kind of his job to get by me. Sorry it happened. I never went into the corner once trying to crash Brian, but he's an extremely aggressive racer also.

Brown joins Aaron Reutzel (broken right foot) and Tyler Courtney (broken back) — two drivers who were injured in last month's Kings Royal week at Eldora — on the mend.

"We race here every week, when you miss the bottom, you slide across. I'm just playing the game that I know how to play," Hickle added. "It sucks that it bit him, but it's been me a couple of times on his end, too. It's just racing man." 

Brian Brown's crew chief Chad Morgan tells J.J. Hickle, "You know better than that. You know better than that bud."

2M car owner Matt Moro tells the No. 21 team "If you think we're scared of you, you're wrong."

JJ says "if you think I came to the Nationals to move out of Brian… pic.twitter.com/WaKjBOmTlD

— Always Race Day (@AlwaysRaceDay) August 8, 2025