Jerry Nadeau continues to recover
By Greg Engle
Cup Scene Daily
In 2003 he was on top of the world.
The 33-year-old Danbury Connecticut driver had won a race in the top tier series of NASCAR, driven for such famous teams as Hendrick Motorsports and Petty Enterprises and finished as high as 17th in the points. He’d begun the 2003 season as the new driver for MB2 Motorsports along with their sponsor the US Army and looked to have a very bright future.
Then came May 2nd. The MB2 team had qualified 12th for the weekends race and were running in the top three during a practice session at Richmond International Raceway, when Jerry Nadeau’s career and very nearly his life, came to an end.
Nadeau slammed into the wall in the worst possible way; driver-side first between the first and second turns. He was airlifted to Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond in critical condition with head, lung and rib injuries.
He’s spent the last three years recovering from his near fatal injuries. Nadeau is now a team consultant for Clay Andrews Racing in the NASCAR Busch Series. He also lends his support to former NASCAR driver Ernie Irvan and the Brain Injury Association of America.
Nadeau talked with Wendy Venturini for a recent edition of NASCAR Raceday on SPEED about his long recovery and his future:
For Nadeau, his recovery to this point seems longer than the three years on the calendar.
“Probably more … it seems like an eternity,” Nadeau said. “I have been stuck in this phase for the last, like you said, three years. I’ve just kind of lost track. You wonder sometimes if it is ever going to get better. But you know it is … I’m functioning. I can talk. I can walk. I just can’t race.”
Nadeau still has lingering effects from the devastating crash, he still has limitations or side effects.
I think the biggest thing is the whole left side of my body is still numb to this day, “he said. “It has been like that for three years. Really, I guess you can say, as sharp as I used to be.
Now as he begins his third year of recovery, Nadeau seems to resign himself to the fact that his condition may never improve further.
“ I don’t think it’s going to get that much better,” Nadeau said. “I think …what they are trying to explain to me is that the first two years, two and a half years is when you are as good as you are going to get. And anything after two and half years is going to be small increments.
You know, one day it’s like a light switch. Your light switch, right now, is off. One day it will turn back on. Well, I am still kind of waiting for that light switch to turn back on.”
Despite his injuries and long recovery, Nadeau has no regrets.
“Not at all,” he said. “I don’t regret anything that I did in racing. I mean, that’s why I am able to carry on with life and not have to worry so much about going back to racing.”
Nadeau remains optimistic about his future, but still has a hard time answering the most basic question; will he ever race again.
“Probably not, “Nadeau said. “But you know, I’m 36 and it’s like god why so young? What do I do? I don’t know. There are some days that I feel like I could go out and at least test or do something. I don’t know.“
Do you finally feel like you can look on the other side of it and say, ‘Yeah, I did overcome it all and I survived it’? Venturini asked him.
“Yes and no, “Nadeau replied “I was busy at the time (of the accident), I was making money. I was doing everything that I had to do. People were happy and then all of a sudden it was like, it all stopped. And I do regret some parts where I got stuck in the trap in racing. I forgot about everything else. I surrounded myself just around racing. And I just cleared everything around me. And then when the wall happened, then I started realizing ‘Wow, there’s more than just racing, there’s life.’
I can’t make anything come back from that accident. All I try to do is make it better … I try to make my life a little better. I used to be so intense with racing and now I’m just going with the flow. It’s not as fun, but it’s not as difficult either. I mean it was pretty difficult in racing. You are always intense and you always have things you have to do, and now I’m just going with the flow.”
I have been searching for news about Jerry's progress towards recovery, and welcomed this news.
God Bless YOU Jerry and I will always keep you in my thoughts.
By Greg Engle
Cup Scene Daily
In 2003 he was on top of the world.
The 33-year-old Danbury Connecticut driver had won a race in the top tier series of NASCAR, driven for such famous teams as Hendrick Motorsports and Petty Enterprises and finished as high as 17th in the points. He’d begun the 2003 season as the new driver for MB2 Motorsports along with their sponsor the US Army and looked to have a very bright future.
Then came May 2nd. The MB2 team had qualified 12th for the weekends race and were running in the top three during a practice session at Richmond International Raceway, when Jerry Nadeau’s career and very nearly his life, came to an end.
Nadeau slammed into the wall in the worst possible way; driver-side first between the first and second turns. He was airlifted to Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond in critical condition with head, lung and rib injuries.
He’s spent the last three years recovering from his near fatal injuries. Nadeau is now a team consultant for Clay Andrews Racing in the NASCAR Busch Series. He also lends his support to former NASCAR driver Ernie Irvan and the Brain Injury Association of America.
Nadeau talked with Wendy Venturini for a recent edition of NASCAR Raceday on SPEED about his long recovery and his future:
For Nadeau, his recovery to this point seems longer than the three years on the calendar.
“Probably more … it seems like an eternity,” Nadeau said. “I have been stuck in this phase for the last, like you said, three years. I’ve just kind of lost track. You wonder sometimes if it is ever going to get better. But you know it is … I’m functioning. I can talk. I can walk. I just can’t race.”
Nadeau still has lingering effects from the devastating crash, he still has limitations or side effects.
I think the biggest thing is the whole left side of my body is still numb to this day, “he said. “It has been like that for three years. Really, I guess you can say, as sharp as I used to be.
Now as he begins his third year of recovery, Nadeau seems to resign himself to the fact that his condition may never improve further.
“ I don’t think it’s going to get that much better,” Nadeau said. “I think …what they are trying to explain to me is that the first two years, two and a half years is when you are as good as you are going to get. And anything after two and half years is going to be small increments.
You know, one day it’s like a light switch. Your light switch, right now, is off. One day it will turn back on. Well, I am still kind of waiting for that light switch to turn back on.”
Despite his injuries and long recovery, Nadeau has no regrets.
“Not at all,” he said. “I don’t regret anything that I did in racing. I mean, that’s why I am able to carry on with life and not have to worry so much about going back to racing.”
Nadeau remains optimistic about his future, but still has a hard time answering the most basic question; will he ever race again.
“Probably not, “Nadeau said. “But you know, I’m 36 and it’s like god why so young? What do I do? I don’t know. There are some days that I feel like I could go out and at least test or do something. I don’t know.“
Do you finally feel like you can look on the other side of it and say, ‘Yeah, I did overcome it all and I survived it’? Venturini asked him.
“Yes and no, “Nadeau replied “I was busy at the time (of the accident), I was making money. I was doing everything that I had to do. People were happy and then all of a sudden it was like, it all stopped. And I do regret some parts where I got stuck in the trap in racing. I forgot about everything else. I surrounded myself just around racing. And I just cleared everything around me. And then when the wall happened, then I started realizing ‘Wow, there’s more than just racing, there’s life.’
I can’t make anything come back from that accident. All I try to do is make it better … I try to make my life a little better. I used to be so intense with racing and now I’m just going with the flow. It’s not as fun, but it’s not as difficult either. I mean it was pretty difficult in racing. You are always intense and you always have things you have to do, and now I’m just going with the flow.”
I have been searching for news about Jerry's progress towards recovery, and welcomed this news.
God Bless YOU Jerry and I will always keep you in my thoughts.