By Jerry Jordan, Editor
FORT WORTH, TX – Despite being sidelined from racing for an indeterminate time due to a seizure at Martinsville Speedway last week, Matt Tifft told a small group of media gathered outside his team hauler at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, that he will race again.
Tifft, who had a brain tumor removed in July 2016, began a two-year deal with Front Row Motorsports this season and is still slated to be in the car next year. He is currently waiting to be cleared by his doctors and NASCAR, in addition to being under restrictions not to drive even a passenger car due to the seizure.
“My goal is to get back in this race car and I want to be back as soon as I possibly can but these next few weeks are going to be dedicated to finding answers with doctors to why this happened,” Tifft said. “It is crazy but the racing part is going to come back and I will get back in a car one way or another, I do honestly believe that. But I have to get my stuff figured out and see what sparked this to happen.”
Asked if he thought the situation could be career-ending, Tifft said he didn’t think so but again focused on finding out why it happened then moving forward.
“I don’t know. My goal right now is to find what caused it,” he said. “I want to be back in a race car but I don’t care about anything else right now other than finding out what caused this. Until then, nothing else matters. I have been through this stuff before and I know enough to be mature and smart enough to know that my health comes first.
“It has been an interesting week for sure. It honestly has been a little crazy with everything that happened so fast. I have my man Keller back here. He was honestly my first responder during the whole thing. It is crazy. You never know what is going to happen in life I guess. I was just talking about simulation stuff and the next thing I know I am on the ground and woke up in the Martinsville hospital and that is the next thing I remember. I am glad to be back here at the track and honestly I wanted to come back today just because it has been very stressful and a lot of anxiety just to come back. I had my seizure five feet behind me here. It is a lot of facing some demons with that and trying to get back. Really, just looking for answers now.”
According to a team representative, they are 100-percent behind Tifft and he still has his ride. Being very clear that it isn’t going away, the team is also focused on their driver getting well and returning to the car next season. Currently, John Hunter Nemecheck is in the No. 36 car and told media Saturday night he is just keeping the seat warm for Tifft’s return as he makes his first Cup Series start today in the AAA Texas 500. Nemecheck said he was glad to be in the car but wished his colleague the very best.
“We will still have Matt be here next year,” said the team representative. “That is our plan. Right now the plan is for Matt to drive for Front Row Motorsports until Matt tells us anything else, but right now we are committed to having Matt back in the car.”
Tifft added that he felt lucky to have been at the track when the seizure occurred because just 15-minutes earlier he was parking his truck after driving in for the race. He said he didn’t remember much of anything and found himself waking up in a Martinsville hospital bed.
“The great thing has been that the brain scans have been really good,” Tifft said. “My brain tumor looked great, or the spot that it was in. Everything there looked really good so the next step is getting an EEG where they hook up the probes to your head and figure out what is going on with the brain waves and see if that is it. If that is not it, then we go down the next chain of command to see what could have sparked it. I am glad to see all you guys here and to be back at the racetrack in full health. Honestly, that was at 8:15. I remember seeing the time before I went down. I had parked my truck 15 or 20 minutes before that. I was extremely fortunate that I was in the infield and not driving the car or anything that happened leading up that morning. It is crazy, but I feel fortunate to be here in good health and talking to you guys. I don’t know if I would have expected that fully after last Saturday.”
Tifft closed out the interview saying he was still “compartmentalizing” things and would keep everyone updated on social media. He said it was important for him to “show his face” and was appreciative of fans and the media, who came out to speak with him.
“It is a little stressful right now and honestly just dealing with the anxiety of it. I just have to take baby steps. I appreciate you guys making the time to come see me. Thank you guys, I really appreciate it,” he said.