Yates would like to have his over-the-wall pit crew members wear helmets in this week's NAPA 500 but is leaving that decision to each crew member. Wearing a helmet may have prevented Burrell from suffering a serious injury.

Burrell was transferred Friday from Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami to Carolina's Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

"He's very clear," Yates said of Burrell. "He's very sharp and didn't forget anything. After he woke up, he remembered everything, except what month it is, and in racing you really don't do things by months."

Even though it was their decision to wear the helmet, all crew members for Yates team will wear one Sunday.

"I think from each one of us with what we saw and what we witnessed, it was a decision that each one of the crew guys made," Yates said. "Some people said that I made that decision, but I think it's really the guys who were smart enough to say, 'Hey, (a helmet) would have protected Bobby.' That's what they'll wear from now on.