Tifft talks brain surgery: 'Very scary and very real thing to go through'
NASCAR racer Matt Tifft will be back in a race car Sunday for the first time since undergoing brain surgery on July 1.
Tifft, 20, will head to Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway to test a late model as he continues to rehab from having surgery to remove a grade two Diffuse Astrocytoma or Glioma in his brain.
Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway, Tifft met with the media to discuss his recovery. He has been medically cleared to return to the track, although there is no timetable yet as to when Tifft will race.
Doctors acted quickly once the tumor was discovered.
"It was a benign brain tumor and this was something that we just couldn't mess with," Tifft said. "We didn't want to wait around. This was something that hadn't taken on a cancerous form or a dangerous form yet, but in the future it very well could have."
Everything went as well as possible, but it was still a daunting process.
"It was a successful surgery, they (the doctors) got as much as they could out and with these things, they best describe it as a wet cotton ball like in a cup of water basically," Tifft said of having the tumor removed. "They can pull out as much as they can, but there's always going to be a couple strands left in there."
And Tifft admitted it was intimidating to go through the surgery.
"I probably came off as positive as I could, but the fact is that this is a very scary and a very real thing to go through," he said.
Tifft has run six NASCAR XFINITY Series races and three more in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Four of his six XFINITY starts were with Joe Gibbs Racing, while his Truck Series starts were all with Red Horse Racing.
At Bristol, Tift did not offer a timetable for his return to competition, but he is understandably eager to get back as soon as possible.
"I think I will be smiling from ear to ear," Tifft said. "I can't tell you how excited I am to strap back in the seat. It will be a really great feeling."
