By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
Matt Perry was aiming high for 2018. After racing four times in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series out in Meridian, Idaho, the season was looking to take the 23-year-old to the K&N Pro Series West in September, where he would make his debut with Patriot Motorsports Group.
“With the lack of funding, I wasn’t able to get as many races as I wanted but we were making it happen,” Perry told Kickin’ The Tires.
The Saint Mary’s, Georgia native has been eying a NASCAR ride since he was a young race fan in the grandstands. However, it hasn’t been his only goal. Perry enlisted in the U.S. Navy in March of 2014 and is currently a Second Class Petty Officer stationed in San Diego, California, aboard Arleigh Burke Class Guided Missile Destroyer U.S.S. Spruance DDG 111.
But his rise up the ladder changed dramatically the night of June 24 when Perry was involved in a car accident while driving home from his second job in San Diego, California.
“It was like any other time,” he said of the drive. “I reached down for a water bottle on my passenger seat and when I looked up, the car in front of me shifted lanes and traffic was stopped. I wasn’t speeding, everything was normal.”
Unable to stop in time, Perry crashed into the rear of a van, bending and breaking the windshield, busting the brake and clutch pedals and pushing the dashboard into Perry’s knees.
Escaping the accident with his life, many at the scene were not sure that would’ve happened.
“Everyone who saw the wreck thought I was dead,” he said. “I knew it was going to happen before it happened. I just relaxed. There is nothing I could do, so just bunch in. It’s amazing how everything can change in an instant.”
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Spending three days at UC San Diego Medical Center, Perry was rushed with messages of support and well wishes from family and friends. Meanwhile, Perry was given a timetable for his return to racing, which initially gave him optimism for racing soon.
“When I was in the hospital, I thought I would be out in a week or two then I’d get right back behind the wheel,” he said. “It was two or three days after when I tried to walk again I realized it wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought.”
Unfortunately, tough walking wasn’t all that would set him back. On July 13, doctors diagnosed with a torn posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) ligament, serious enough to put him out for longer than just a couple weeks. The PCL ligament ensures proper alignment of the femur and tibia and was torn when the dashboard was pushed back in the accident.
“Originally, it was thought to be a month and I thought, ‘Cool, one month and I’d be right back at it. No big deal, Ill miss one race,'” he said. “Once we start doing physical therapy we knew it looked like the PCL. We got an MRI done and that’s where the one month was stretched to two to six months.
“I couldn’t lift my leg more than four inches off the ground. I knew there was no way I’d be able to get behind the wheel again.”
It was now when he knew his racing plans, including his K&N debut in September, would be on the sidelines.
“That was when the gutwrenching part hit me,” he said. “Damn, I was that close.”
Along with his exit of racing, his U.S. Navy work also was adjusted during his time of recovery.
“I’m not able to get on and off the ship with my injuries so they put me in another building,” he said. “I’m just working in an office. I really want to be on the ship but I have to focus on my health right now.”
Though it hurts physically and mentally, Perry’s sight is on healing up for his return to racing, which includes running, stretching and even racing RC cars to stay in the racing mindset. Better yet, he is off crutches and has been walking with a knee brace for more than a week.
A step in the right direction by most accounts but there is plenty of progress yet to come. Most people in a time of recovery look for inspiration and Perry has no shortage of influences. One is from Kyle Busch, who broke a foot and leg at Daytona in February and came back to win the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series title in November.
“Contrary to what everybody thinks of Kyle Busch, I look at his story of that championship-winning season,” he said. “He was out for 12 or so weeks and he won the championship. I’m looking at this as, next season we are going to make a difference.”
With possible opportunities to get behind the wheel by the end of the year, Perry hopes to build up necessary funding for a strong effort in 2019.
“I’ve started re-focusing on 2019,” he said. “I’m doing everything I can in the offseason to keep my mind engaged, build up funds. Next season is going to look much better than this one.
“I am hoping I can get enough sponsors for where six months from now, I’ll be fully healed and I will be back behind the wheel.”
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