'Sunshine' is poised to chase a national championship but had to work for it
Tyler Courtney was of mixed minds in the immediate aftermath of a violent crash at the Knight Before the Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway in July that broke his T7 vertebrae and left him with a concussion.
When can I race
Is this a sign that I shouldn’t
Sprint Car driver Tyler Courtney was transported for evaluation after a multi-car crash on the opening lap of the Joker's Jackpot at Eldora Speedway. He was alert post-crash. The race was halted for 20 minutes before resuming. (FloRacing) pic.twitter.com/gITcQeruQE
— NTC Feed (@NTC_Feed) July 18, 2025
This was the second crash in three years at Eldora that sidelined ‘Sunshine’ with back injuries and it would be easy for anyone in his early 30s to start looking at a bigger picture beyond racing but …
“As a driver, I always wanted to race as soon as I could,” Courtney told Motorsport.com on Wednesday. “But from a medical standpoint, I thought there might be a case for my doctors to say ‘hey, let’s look at doing something else,’ but they never did.
“They worked really hard to meet my goals. My head doctor was like ‘hey, I don’t know how hard you want to work at this,’ and by the end, he told me, ‘I didn’t think you were going to race a car again,’ but said I did everything I needed to do and passed me with flying colors.”
Courtney had spinal fusion from his T5 to T9. He says he has 10 screws and two or three plates added. He progressively worked from a 10-pound weight limit to 25 and then 50 before starting a physical therapy regimen.
“And then, I had a massive concussion with everything else too,” Courtney said. “There were some setbacks there and first and then we got with Dr. (Micky) Collins in Pittsburgh who is obviously a very highly decorated neurologist in Pittsburgh.
“He’s probably the best guy in the world at this. He’s amazing. He got me back on track. I just listened to him and did everything he told me to do. It wasn’t just sit around and heal your mind and body but also putting yourself into positions to make your brain work again.
“And some of that was really difficult but it was part of the process to get myself back into a race car.”
From there, it was strength training and cardio for Courtney to rebuild himself back into ‘Sunshine,’ the 2018 USAC Sprint champion, 2019 USAC Midget champion and two-time All Star Circuit’s champion.
And ‘Sunshine’ very much looked back this past weekend in winning the 360 Sprint DIRTcar Nationals championship with two wins and a fourth-place finish. The races came against a stout field of fellow 410 Sprint drivers too, whom were all on-site early to get a look at Volusia Speedway before the World of Outlaws season opener on Wednesday.
Was it validation in the work that he needed to put in to rebuild himself?
“Yeah, I think I think that's a good word for it,” Courtney said. “It was validation that I wasn’t just wasting away the past six months. I was working my ass off to get back in a Sprint Car and prove to myself that I could still do the things I did before.
“And yeah, it was just a 360 event, but this whole trip was just for me to get back into a rhythm and a process to learn to race for a High Limit championship. To come down here and race against some really great guys and have to pass cars the first two nights, it was good to know I could still do it. It’s not that I thought I forgot but I just needed to get back in the headspace I was in before I got hurt.”
For Courtney, it was only possible because of the support system around him in wife Aysia, team owners Tim Clauson, Richard and Jennifer Marshall and Lauren Albano from NOS Energy.
“They never wavered,” Courtney said. “They always asked what I needed and when I was ready to come back. There is a lot to say about that. I think that is why we’ve had the success we’ve had together because we are always pulling in the same direction no matter what happens.
“Like, I ran fourth last night, and didn’t run a perfect race, but I never have to worry about the seat getting pulled out on Monday. We share the same core values from ownership to sponsors and the crew. I have a firm belief that this is a reason why we’re going to keep having success this year.”
He believes a High Limit championship is obtainable too. Brad Sweet has retired and it leaves Courtney in a wide-open mix with defending champion Rico Abreu, Aaron Reutzel, Brent Marks, Justin Peck and Tanner Thorson.
“Brad leaving does leave it a little wide-open but Rico has done it and I have won championships before, and it doesn’t get easier, but it gives you the confidence that you already have the right mindset,” Courtney said. “There’s no reason we can’t do it again this year.
“Rico has some extra resources at (Tony Stewart Racing) and Brent Marks is there every night. Aaron had a great run in Australia. We just have a great group of guys we race with every night.
“I worked really hard to get back in a race car and win a championship. I have done a lot of cool things in racing but for the past six months, I realized there are a lot of things left I still want to do and winning a winged national championship is at the top of the list.”
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Category: General Sports
