injured driver Jerry Nadeau had planned to be at Richmond International Raceway last night to watch the Chevy American Revolution 400. His plans changed because a death in his family earlier in the week took him away from his Davidson, N.C., home and he felt like he needed to get caught up on things when he returned. So he took some time on the phone to talk about the wreck at RIR two years ago this month that almost took his life and perhaps will take his career. Nadeau won the pole that day, driving for MB2 Motorsports. In a practice session after qualifying, he hit the wall hard between Turns 1 and 2 and had to be airlifted out of the racetrack.
He was in a coma for three weeks, in a hospital for three months. The recovery has been slow and is not yet complete. Nadeau knows he may never drive competitively again, but he’s not ready to give up hope. He hopes that some tests to be run Wednesday will show that progress has been made and that he will be able to return one day. “I’m still young and energized and ready to go,” Nadeau, 34, said. “If the tests go good next week and everything looks good, I’m going to bug Jay [Frye, MB2 owner] and try to do a test and see where I’m at and hopefully get in a car in the next couple of months and maybe go do a test. The doctors have said it takes a good two years. My left side is still numb. I can’t change that. It is going to remain numb for a while. I feel like I’m thinking better, talking better, just doing better overall.”
A NASCAR spokesman said yesterday that the sanctioning organization needs only clearance from a doctor to allow Nadeau to race again. Without that, he won’t race. Nadeau knows that even with clearance, he’s taking a chance if he does race again. “I have an insurance policy and [doctors] said I was better off taking the insurance policy and doing something else,” he said. “You know what? I don’t know what else to do. All I know how to do is race. I figure I might as well give it a shot.” Since being injured, he said, he’s stayed busy enough. He’s taught some sessions in driving schools and may want to turn to that full time if he can’t race. He’s traveled to make appearances. “I was in Kentucky two weeks ago . . . we made a movie of my life and I show that to the fans and then I’ll come out and talk about my life,” Nadeau said. “I came to Charlotte with 100 dollars in my pocket and I made it to the Nextel Cup circuit. We haven’t done the tests in nine months with an MRI and we’re going to do one Wednesday and kind of compare. Hopefully there is some bright light and things will look good. Who knows?”(Richmond Times Dispatch)(5-15-2005)
