Thomas Hatcher remembers a tire hitting him in the chest and chin during a pit stop on Lap 180 Sunday at the World Wide Technology Raceway. After that, everything still is a blur.

The front tire changer for Eric Jones’ No. 43 Chevrolet was hit on pit road by a tire. Medical technicians were so concerned he was taken to the trauma center at St. Louis University Hospital for further treatment.

After clearing a CT scan, the Middleburg High graduate flew to his North Carolina home nine hours after his Legacy Motor Club teams arrived.

A day later, he spoke with Clay Today about the accident during Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 for the NASCAR Cup Series.

“We had the 3 (Austin Dillon) pitting in front of us and we (Jones) followed him in,” Hatcher said. “The 3 didn’t give us any breaks by giving us room to the wall. You try to split the cars (running out to do the pit stop) when they follow each other. The front (tire carrier) didn’t get enough room. Everything recoiled into me and I got blasted.”

One of the tires hit Hatcher so hard his feet went straight up, and he dropped to the pavement head-first. His helmet and foam cushion were cracked.

“I got knocked out,” Hatcher said. “I mean, I was out cold for about 30 seconds. I don’t remember anything. I tried watching some of the videos, but it’s all still crazy to me. I just laid there. I started to get up, and I guess I fell over. They told me I needed to stay down.”

While Hatcher pits for Legacy, he’s employed by Joe Gibbs Racing. Many of the second-tier teams hire crews from larger organizations. A year ago, he was the front tire-changer for Kyle Busch, and the team won the NASCAR World Pit Crew Championship.

Busch now drives for Richard Childress Racing and he won Sunday’s race.

Tyler Reddick drives for Michael Jordan’s and Denny Hamlin’s 23XI, and they also get crews from Gibbs. After Reddick crashed, Houston Stamper finished the race for Legacy. Jones finished 18th.

Hatcher is now in NASCAR’s concussion protocol. He said he feels good enough “to pit a car right now,” he won’t be allowed over the wall until he’s cleared.

“The doctor had me do a couple of little things and I definitely was knocked out,” he said. “I honestly feel great. Now I’m sore. My neck muscle feels like when I had a football neck – you know, when you first start the first few days of football practice and your neck gets sore.”

Now in his 17th season as a tire changer, Hatcher is also in the final year of his contract. “What happened was the best of the worst,” he said. “I’ve been in it a long time. I guess it was my time. I just can’t remember it.”