Jerry Nadeau, Jay Frye Speak About
Driving Recovery Program For 2004
by Marty Tyler-Staff Writer
11/10/2003

It's old news to NASCAR fans that Jerry Nadeau was seriously injured in an accident at Richmond International Raceway on May 2nd of this year. After being in a coma for two weeks, he regained consciousness and his recovery seemed to be rapid and amazing. However, as is quite COMMON with these types of brain injuries, Jerry has reached a plateau, of sorts. And while his doctors inform him that he will continue to improve and that he is expected to make a full recovery, MB2 Motorsports and U.S. Army Racing were left with a tough decision to make regarding Jerry's role for 2004.

What some NASCAR fans may have missed is what can only be termed as TRUE team spirit. A solution was found that is, in my opinion, unequaled to date and just may be the biggest and best newsworthy NASCAR human interest story of 2003.

In a press release dated October 13th, the unprecedented announcement was made of a "Recovery Driving Program" for Nadeau with Joe Nemechek having agreed to pilot the #01 U.S. Army MB2 Pontiac for the remainder of 2003 and the NASCAR 2004 Nextel Cup season.

Details of this recovery/driving program for Jerry are still under development as Jerry's progress is ongoing. Established with assistance from Hendrick Motorsports and NEMCO Motorsports, the 2004 plans "will most likely include a mixture of Nextel Cup, Busch and ARCA races (official press release October 13).

I spoke with Jay Frye, General Manager of MB2 Motorsports and the apparent engineer of this program, and Jerry last week about their thoughts on this program and their dedication to the team and this effort.

"Yeah, we invented something," quipped Frye. "First of all, Jerry keeps using this thing about any other team would kick him to the curb and we haven't. Obviously we're not kicking him to the curb by doing this program. We're counting on him by doing this program. We're counting on him, but we're not counting on him until 2005. That's the deal."

"He's young enough, when we get him back in 2005, he'll be 34, so, he'll still have 10 or 12 great years left. So, we wanted to do it right. We've watched how some other teams have handled situations like this, and not that anyone's done anything wrong because, as we know, you're assumption is that this person is OK. And they are OK, but, there's really no test for running a race car at 200 miles per hour other than doing it. The Winston Cup schedule is, as you know, very grueling. We don't stop. That takes stamina and that's the part that really takes time with the recovery."

"Jerry's doing great. It was amazing, when we talked to him about what we were thinking about doing with the plan, how much better he got immediately. Immediately! I think it was because it was a relief on his behalf. He kept waking up everyday and wanted to be perfect. And he'd wake up and he wasn't. And the frustration that's happened because of that...we've seen that. So, we told him here's what we're thinking of doing for 2004."

"It's real important, OK, you've got the team. The team needs continuity and consistency. We're very lucky we were able to go get Joe (Nemechek). We were thrilled about that. We could have done something where we put somebody else in for the first 10 or 15 races, hoping Jerry would come back the second half. That type of thing. But there's the pressure (Jerry might feel). That's the thing, you don't know."

"When people ask me what is the program, well, we don't have it, yet. We have ideas and we can do 3 of these, 2 of those and 6 of these. We have that, but, we don't know when it's going to start, nor, do we care. It could start in February or it could start in June or July. That's OK. We wanted it to be very flexible based on him."

"We had a certain date in our mind, really around the Charlotte race, that Jerry needed to be in our car testing. That hadn't happened, yet. So, that's when it really all kind of came together. We're very close to the Hendrick group and we had a meeting with them about some other things. Brian Vickers was going to get in our car. But we thought, what if Joe were to agree to drive our car for 2004, and, simultaneously with Joe's help from NEMCO and Hendrick's help, they could help us with our rehab program."

"It's hard for us to do it all by ourselves because of cars, people and schedules, so, we'll coordinate it all, but, we'll have their resources to use. So, we thought wow what a cool plan. So, we put it on paper and had to get all the players to agree to do it and they all did. So, that's where we're at and we're all very excited."

"Pressure was bad for him (Jerry). He had to be ready to go in January, not almost ready to go. The doctors believe he will be 100% again, but there's no template for the recovery. And Jerry is still recovering every day. What we used to see in a day, now might take a week, cause their small (gains). Now it's more physical training. So, that's his job right now, to take care of the Army and his commitments, appearances, that type of thing. And the other part of his job is to work out and his physical conditioning."

Nadeau visits New Hampshire Int'l Speedway, the first track he visits since accident. Here Nadeau is greeted by NASCAR President Mike Helton on July 18th. Even though he returns as a spectator, everyone is glad to see Nadeau walking around after his life threatening accident at Richmond in May.




"Jerry has very much endeared himself to this team," continued Frye. "They all genuinely care about him and they're all genuinely friends. And they genuinely miss him. It was a unique group (as a team). Everybody always talks about the communication the teams have to have. Well, this team has really connected."

“That's the part that's frustrating for me. We know he's going to be OK. We know we've just got stick to this program for next year and he'll be back in '05. The frustrating part for me is this year because they had really started to turn that corner. You really saw some great things happening...the team gelling. I mean, who knows if this hadn't happened where we would be today. It was really going to be an exciting, good young team. And next year it would have been great.”

“All of this can still happen. We're just taking a little detour. We've made the best of a very unfortunate situation and it's going to be OK. If I could wave a magic wand and make this all go away I would, but, I can't. So, we're going to do this right. Jerry IS part of this team. He's family."

"The Army was very behind this. Remember their motto is leave no man behind. They are very much committed to us and to Jerry. They're very much in support of this program. It was important to us that we had the complete support of our sponsor, whatever we needed to do. We weren't going to leave Jerry behind."

Jerry was equally praising of this team, Jay, The Army and this program.

"Obviously I'm disappointed that I won't be in the car for next year," said Nadeau, "but, I've got to say that my team is 100% behind me. My sponsors, Jay Frye, Tom Beard, all the guys that own MB2 know that I have a brain injury and it's just a matter of time. I can't just step in the car and go racing. Most guys would go right in the car and be fine with it just to make a paycheck. But, I'm not here for the money. I want to be competitive. I want to be exactly how I was before the wreck."

"You know, I think we talked, probably, 3 or 4 weeks ago about plans for next year and two months ago I was really looking forward to next year. I was like O.K. I'll be ready. I've got 5 months to relax. I've got 5 months for my brain injury to heal (completely). And when we started to talk about it, it wasn't coming nearly as fast as I thought it would. And we decided that we would hire Joe Nemechek to drive the Army car all year next year. What I'm going to do is drive some Busch races, some ARCA races and maybe, when I'm ready, get in some Cup cars and do some one off races. You know, where ever, like Sears Point or Watkins Glen."

"I've got to say the team has been great. When I started with them we struggled a lot. And then we started making the team better and we had just started to get our chemistry just right. And then the wreck happened. I am looking forward to getting in the car again, but, I can't say it's going to be next week or 5 months down the road. It's really hard to say, but, I'll tell you what, when I'm ready to go all I have to do is make a phone call and I can go race."

"I think right now they're just letting me heal slow. Not every brain injury is the same, and I think most guys want to get right back in the car. I can get back in a car next week if I want, but, I'm not ready. I know I'm not ready. I just don't want to go out there to make a fool out of myself, because if something happens then they're going to say "he's junk, he's shot". I would rather get back to 100% like I was before the wreck. And the doctors say I should. It's just a very slow process. I take Amantatine (fatigue medication) every day, which basically lets the blood flow quicker through the brain. I exercise. I do everything, every day, like every man should do like wash the truck, take the garbage out and clean my shop. It's just that my left side is really the biggest problem I'm having. It's just not coming in as fast as I thought it would."

I told Jerry that after the teleconference, and my subsequent article on it, a few months back, many of his fans wrote in total support of him and his recovery effort. Many said they don't care how long it takes, they just want him back safe and sound.

"NASCAR fans are the best, no doubt about it. We were watching Wind Tunnel last night with Dave Despain, and you know how they have a call in. Well, I was just watching with my wife. We were laying in bed and this lady called saying, "Hey, how is Jerry Nadeau?". I was like no way. So, it's cool that people are out there and thinking about me, and, I know they can't wait until I get back in the car. And I know that they realize that when I'm ready I'm going to step back in the car, and, I imagine they'll be excited."

"I just want to thank all my fans for thinking about me and for all the gifts I got. I'll cherish it for the rest of my life. Well, geez, I got so much stuff. I got 4 big banners that people signed. I got cards, I got like 5 cases of cards and letters. I just didn't know I had touched that many people in NASCAR. I mean, I was just an ordinary guy just doing what I love to do...racing. I didn't do anything different. I wasn't flamboyant. I didn't win a lot of races."

"I think everyone pulls together when someone is hurt, and obviously, I was hurt. And everybody in the NASCAR community and the fans, themselves, pulled together to basically keep me upbeat. I've just got to thank them for everything they're doing. I've got to thank them for what they've done in the past...cheering for me every week. I think Nadeau fans are the greatest fans in the world! They're normal people just like me and I think that's why they're affected."

"I'm just a normal dude. I came down here from Connecticut with $200.00 in my pocket and I made it to Winston Cup racing. They enjoy that and they know that here's an ordinary guy that can make it and let's just hang with him and cheer him on."

"This year has been unbelievable, especially with The U.S. Army coming on board and the crisis that our world has gone through. It's had a big impact on, not only myself, but the team and the whole country."

"I was over there last year. I went to Afghanistan. I went to Kuwait. I saw the troops and hung out with them. My dad served in the Army, so, my Dad taught me a lot of values of life. He taught me the value of a dollar. He taught me how to be strong and how to work. I owe a lot to my parents. I've got two great parents who raised me very well. And I plan on doing the same thing with my new daughter. She's awesome."

I told Jerry that I hope the fans will take everything he has said to heart. He represents so much hope to this sport. He's the kind of driver, the kind of man all race fans want their children to grow up to emulate. He represents hope in the face of adversity.

"Never quit," he quickly added. "That's been my motto my whole life."

They won't give up, Jerry...not a chance. And when you finally do climb back in that car, I know they will all be on their feet in the grandstands cheering you on.

In this day and age of big business and million dollar racing deals, contracts aren't really worth the paper they're printed on. Loyalty, usually, doesn't have a place in corporate sponsor's board rooms. Changes, it seems, all too often happen at the speeds of a short track race. That's just the way it is. Right?

Well, not at MB2 Motorsports and the U.S. Army. They have really upped the standard of team character this year and raised the bar on loyalty to an all new level! This driving recovery program is the very example of what team spirit, drive and dedication is all about. The key words with this team are character and loyalty. They are to be commended.

Thank you, Jerry and Jay, for your time and considerations. Good luck to you all. Your fans are patiently waiting! You'll make it! God Speed.

To learn more about this team, their latest news and their sponsor, please visit the following websites: