This story by Shawn Miller is on Hoseheads.com… Truly amazing story…
3/16/11
The word ?comeback? doesn?t give this justice. Neither does ?amazing,? ?remarkable? or any other inspired adjective.
This is movie material, the kind a director could only create in his best and worst moments. In fact, to truly understand just how remarkable this comeback is, flash back eight months.
On July 18, two days after his 33rd birthday, Travis Rilat was in critical condition in a Seattle hospital with his body close to 70 percent burned after an explosion. Three days later, one of his best friends and crew member, Tyson Perez, died from burns sustained in the methanol blast.
The outlook was grim and spirits diminished, yet Rilat continued to progress. Little by little, and surgery by surgery, the 2003 ASCS National Tour champion began to improve. Finally, after more than two months in the Seattle hospital, Rilat flew home in late September to convalesce and nurture a new outlook.
?Nobody ever told me being a dad would be this cool,? said Rilat, whose daughter, Kinsley, is 14-months-old. ?Racing always came first. That?s changed now. Family, work, then racing.?
However, the story isn?t complete with Rilat only getting a second chance at life. Far from it.
Last Saturday, in an ASCS Lone Star Region event at Lone Star Speedway in Kilgore, Texas, Rilat did the unthinkable. In his first time back in a race car since the explosion, Rilat drove from sixth to the lead of his heat race ? in three laps. He capped the night by finishing third in the feature.
?I guess I still got it,? Rilat quipped.
And the story doesn?t end there. TSR Motorsports will field two cars at the 38th annual Spring Nationals ? an ASCS National Tour event held at Devil?s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas, on March 25-26.
?The more cards you?ve got on the table, the better the odds,? said Rilat, who asked 2000 ASCS National Tour champion Wayne Johnson to pilot a second entry.
?Wayne, he?s a great driver. He?ll be one of the best drivers there.?
Rilat said he?ll stick close to home this season, possibly racing a couple dozen events. His focus is on rebuilding his business ? All Star Auto Reconditioning ? which took a hit in his absence. And, of course, his renewed center of attention is around his family.
Also, Rilat is still in physical therapy, which he attends a couple of times each week. He still doesn?t have full movement of his arms, which only hinders him in the race car when he?s strapping in. But Rilat?s working vigilantly on range of motion and if racing a 700-horsepower car around a dirt track at more than 100 miles per hour is any indicator, he?s doing ok.
Oh, and one more thing. Although he?s racing close to home to focus on rehabilitating his body and business this year, there?s another reason ? Rilat plans on returning to the ASCS National Tour full time next season.
?Assuming the sponsors want to, more than likely it?ll be a national deal,? he said.
From a menacing hospital bed to a high-octane sprint car, wrapped in gauze to sporting a driver?s suit, Rilat has risen from near death back to stardom.
It?s truly an amazing, remarkable comeback, although that doesn?t begin to tell the story.