Driver Denny Hamlin will miss at least six weeks of the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit after suffering fractured vertebra in a crash on the last lap of Sunday's race at Fontana, California.

While Hamlin won't need surgery, doctors advised him Tuesday that he'd need the time to allow his back to heal.

Sunday marked Hamlin's 264th consecutive Sprint Cup Series start. He crashed when rival driver Joey Logano made contact with him while they were racing alongside each other for the lead on the last lap of the Auto Club 400. Hamlin's car impacted the wall after the crash, which required the driver to be transported via ambulance from the track. Kyle Busch won the race.

Joe Gibbs Racing, Hamlin's team, hasn't decided on a replacement for him. NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series is off this week. Its next scheduled race is the STP Gas Booster 500 at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Va. on April 7.

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