Piece of lead destroys Jamie Dick's car, hits his helmet at Iowa Speedway

Jamie Dick's return to NASCAR XFINITY Series competition did not go as planned Saturday morning at Iowa Speedway.

Dick, the driver and owner of Viva Motorsports, is making his first XFINITY Series start this weekend since being diagnosed with diabetes after the March 14 race at Phoenix International Raceway.

However, at the end of Saturday's opening practice at Iowa Speedway, Dick struck a piece of lead ballast that had fallen off another car. The piece of lead initially struck Dick's hood before traveling up the windshield.

Dick told FOXSports.com via phone on Saturday he followed a car off pit road and noticed debris coming from the back of the car. He initially believed the debris to be brake duct hoses before hitting the piece of lead on the frontstretch.

"I shouldn't have assumed it was just brake ducts," Dick said.

Damage to the hood and windshield of Jamie Dick's No. 55 Chevrolet. 

Pictures provided by the team show heavy damage to Dick's windshield and roof area, just above the driver compartment of the No. 55 Chevrolet.

Despite the significant damage, Dick was able to drive the car to the garage, where NASCAR officials were immediately on the scene.

The piece of lead apparently went through the windshield, struck Dick's helmet visor and was still in the car when Dick came back to the garage area.

Dick was not injured in the incident.

Although Dick would not name the driver ahead of him that lost the lead ballast, Ross Chastain took to Twitter to own up to the incident and apologize to Viva Motorsports.

While the chassis and engine were all right, the damage to the hood, windshield and roof forced the team to pull out a backup car. Dick said the backup car is a good car, but not as good as the primary. The team will use Saturday's qualifying session as an additional practice to prepare the car for Sunday's race.

Facing a host of adversity already this season, Saturday's incident was the latest setback for the driver/owner.

"There's been a lot of curveballs here for me lately," Dick said. "Luckily the team is running well without me in the car, so it's easy to stay positive about that."

Jamie Dick's helmet visor was damaged after being struck by a piece of lead ballast.