The South Australian will be confined to a back brace for six weeks after fracturing his C7 vertebrae in a Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic heat crash on Saturday night.

Surgery was ruled out after he was flown to Adelaide to see a specialist following the incident at Allansford’s Premier Speedway.

Pestka, 25, rated the injury the worst of his nine-year sprintcar career.

“If it touched my spinal cord, I wouldn’t be able to feel from my elbows down,” he said.

“I thought I was all right but I had an x-ray and I’d smacked it pretty bad.

“Where the spinal cord is was all fine, so that was good, and they flew me back to Adelaide that night.”

Pestka, who works in his father’s bakery, is recuperating at home.

He can walk but is restricted to lying on his back.

“The only problem is sleeping on my back – it’s uncomfortable as hell,” Pestka said.

“I don’t want to sit around that long either.

“I can’t drive because I can’t move my neck.”

Pestka, who hails from the Adelaide Hills suburb of Strathalbyn, flipped and hit the wall on turn four during a heat race.

The experienced driver was treated in Warrnambool before returning the South Australia.

He said an awkward landing put pressure on his back.

“I made the wrong decision at the time and ended up nicking the wheel,” Pestka said.

“I wasn’t too worried and wasn’t in too much pain.

“I had no painkillers until I was flown here five hours later.”

Pestka said the injury wouldn’t deter him from returning to the race track.

He is unsure of his recovery time but is eyeing Easter competitions.

“It doesn’t make me think twice (about racing) but it (injury) can happen easily,” Pestka said.

“It’s just a matter of landing the wrong way.”

Premier Speedway general manager David Mills said the sprintcar world would rally around Pestka, a regular Grand Annual competitor.

“The good news is it’s the best-case scenario with that injury,” he said.

Meanwhile, Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic winner James McFadden and 2016 champion Jamie Veal will represent Warrnambool at the Australian titles in Sydney this week.

McFadden is chasing a third national crown and Veal his first.

Terang driver Jack Lee has also nominated for the three-day Valvoline Raceway event.

Defending Australian champion Kerry Madsen, who finished fifth at the 45^th ​classic, is among the 104-strong field.