Munter: Jerry's been there and back again

Professional race car drivers have, arguably, the coolest job in the world. They have multi-million dollar sponsors that pay them big bucks to take high-performance race cars to the edge of control all day long on any given Sunday, February through November.

These guys are the best in the world at what they do. They are worshiped by their fans and admired by millions. And while the benefits of being a race car driver are many -- money, recognition, excitement -- there is one very serious risk.

Like any great gamble, to win big you must also risk losing big. For a race car driver, losing can mean injury or even death. It is this dark reality that race car drivers must, by necessity, disregard.

VIDEO CLIPS Jerry Nadeau gives an update on his condition Play video Nadeau talks about his inspiration Play video Nadeau talks about his new perspective on life Play video Steve Park offers Nadeau advice on recovery Play video More from Leilani Munter's video page Play video

These are men of steel -- super heroes. They are not weak and they are not afraid. It is this inherent lack of fear that sets race car drivers apart from your average Joe.

On a level of competition as high-caliber as Nextel Cup, drivers are busy calculating how to get their car around the race track one tenth of a second faster than the rest of the field. Getting hurt is not something that comes to mind when they are flying into those corners full-throttle. If it was, one thing is for certain -- they would not be fast.

With speed comes danger, and it is this risk that makes racing so exciting. This is why NASCAR has 75 million fans. But no race fan wants to see any driver get hurt, no matter how much they may boo him during driver introductions. So when someone does get hurt, it makes the whole sport stop and take a deep breath.

Eleven months ago at Richmond International Raceway, the racing world stopped in its tracks and took a very deep breath. On the 2nd of May, the No. 01 US Army Chevrolet with 32-year-old Jerry Nadeau behind the wheel hit the wall driver's side first taking the hardest hit ever recorded by NASCAR's black box, 135 Gs.

Jerry Nadeau was cut from his car and airlifted to Virginia Commonwealth Medical Center in Richmond with a moderate to severe head injury, a partially collapsed left lung, fractured left scapula and left side rib cage injuries. He was knocked unconscious and did not wake up for 20 days. His wife Jada waited anxiously by his side with his two-month-old daughter Natalie.

I had never met Jerry Nadeau before I interviewed him this week at his MB2/MBV race shop in Concord, North Carolina. I was greeted with a big smile and he showed me around the shop. It was obvious he is well loved by his crew, they were all joking around and giving each other a hard time the way guys do in race shops.

	Nadeau says he's learned that there is more to life than just racing.

"He is just the coolest guy," said mechanic T.J. Majors, "He comes to the shop and takes us all out to lunch, not a lot of drivers do that sort of thing."

Jerry beamed while he told me about his big break back in 1997. After a background primarily in road racing, Jerry was working for Richard Jackson Racing wondering when he would get a chance to drive.

After answering phones and sweeping the race shop for several months, Richard offered him an opportunity to run a couple ARCA races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

However, first Jerry needed to come up with $15,000 to cover some of the cost. He exhausted his resources, calling everyone he knew to ask for help, and gathered up the money. Jerry turned heads when he finished fourth and second in those two ARCA races. He was immediately promoted to the Cup series.

Jerry has been in Nextel Cup ever since -- that is, until his injury last May. And while the accident cannot be considered a positive thing, some good has come from it. Following his injury, Jerry realized something about life he hadn't fully appreciated before: There are other things in life besides racing.

"Before the accident I was all racing. There's just so many things that come to your life that you don't realize you have. I've got a beautiful wife and a beautiful daughter," he said, "As much as I enjoyed racing, they're the number one priority in my life. I've just decided to sit back and take it easy... just enjoy life a little bit more."

ALSO  •  Munter: Reeling in 'Catfish' tales  •  Leilani Munter Diary: Times are changing

And as much as he is enjoying spending time with his wife Jada and daughter Natalie, Jerry wondered about his future.

"All I kept thinking was, 'God am I gonna be like this the rest of my life?' You've got to realize, my whole life has been racing -- nothing else," he said, "The only thing I know to do is race."

I told Jerry that, although I didn't know him before his accident, I could not detect any signs of his head injury.

"That's the thing. I look fine, no broken bones or visible injuries -- on the outside I appear to be healthy. But I can feel the difference."

He describes what we cannot see on the surface.

"It's almost like when your arm falls asleep or if you're sitting wrong on a couch and your leg falls asleep and it tingles. My whole left side tingles like that 24 hours a day."

For the brain, perhaps more than any other injury, healing is a waiting game. While Jerry is very determined to get back behind the wheel, he is also very clear about the fact that he does not want to get back into the car too soon. "Right now I figure I'm about 70 percent ready and in Cup you have to be at least 100 percent, 110 percent to do it."

"It's very frustrating to live in my body and know that I can do it. I know I can race, but I'm just not ready to do it. I realize my brain is working to get better and it's going to take time."

And when Jerry does feel ready to get back into a race car, he will face another challenge.

	Nadeau shares a moment with his daughter Natalie.

"We talked about when he does come back, the scrutiny he's going to be under just like myself -- that I was under when I got hurt. But he's strong," said Steve Park, who suffered a head injury at Darlington International Raceway in September 2001. "He's doing the right thing. He knows himself. When he's ready to get back in a race car we're gonna see him run as good as he did when he left."

We do not know when Jerry will take to the track again and right now, neither does he. But one thing is for certain: That deep breath we took that fateful day last May, we have all exhaled. Jerry is okay. He is happy and enjoying life -- smiling, laughing and telling stories. Whether or not he ever gets into a race car or not, he is alive and well.

But something tells me Jerry will return to the sport he loves and has known his whole life. Melanie Whitfield, who has worked for Jerry many years, said it all. "I feel sorry for anybody that tries to stand in the way of him getting back in a race car."

And when that day comes, the entire racing world will be on their feet cheering for his return.

Leilani Munter reports each Wednesday on NASCAR.COM's TrackPass.