Scott Ray has a little more spring in his step and that has everything to do with being half the man he used to be. That statement has nothing to do with his personal character and everything to do with his physical stature.

Ray suffered a heart attack in February, and underwent bypass surgery to repair the damage. As a result, Ray completely changed his lifestyle, lost a considerable amount of weight and admits he’s never felt better.

Last weekend at the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, Ray climbed behind the wheel of the family-owned Ohio Crankshaft Corvette for the first time since beating the odds. Heart Attack Serves As Major Wake-Up Call for Pro Mod Racer …

Scott Ray has a little more spring in his step and that has everything to do with being half the man he used to be. That statement has nothing to do with his personal character and everything to do with his physical stature.

Ray suffered a heart attack in February, and underwent bypass surgery to repair the damage. As a result, Ray completely changed his lifestyle, lost a considerable amount of weight and admits he’s never felt better.

Last weekend at the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, Ray climbed behind the wheel of the family-owned Ohio Crankshaft Corvette for the first time since beating the odds.

“It feels good to beat the odds but it’s been a tough road to get myself back up,” said Ray. “I had to change my lifestyle completely.  We're getting there, we're not perfect, but we're getting there.”

Living the drag racing lifestyle and remaining healthy might pose a bigger challenge than finding the right combination for his 2,500-horse Pro Modified entry.
     
“It's very hard,” Ray said. “I had many years to do everything wrong but now I'm getting this straightened out. The race car is also tough but maintaining the healthy lifestyle is harder.”

Ray’s heart attack hit him quicker than the amber flashing on the Christmas tree. He and his dad, Stan, along with his brother, were working on the race car in anticipation of the 2009 season when he described a feeling of “out of sorts” and stepped away from changing the transmission gears. A couple of hours later, he had his wife take him to the hospital where the emergency room personnel diagnosed his condition as a full blown heart attack.
     
Ray admitted that back in those days he put most of his emphasis on racing and the task at hand, and chose taking care of himself physically as a distant third or fourth. Never again, he says, will he put himself in that position.

He’s understandably making the most of his new lease on life.

“I'm trying to make the most of it,” explained Ray. “I always made the most of life back then but now I’m double timing it.
     
At 49, Ray says a day in his life is taking care of the demands at the family’s Ohio Crankshaft business and allowing all the other details to settle into their proper priority.

“Trying to keep my stress down,” Ray said is important, very important. “Do that first and be good to my wife and my daughter and then the race car is after that.”

Ray cautions his fellow racers and anyone who repeatedly lives life by burning the candle at both ends. His advice is simple, if at 49, he can become a victim of a heart attack, so can those out there even younger.
     
“That's an awful young age for this to be happening to somebody,” Ray said. “When you are on the road like we are, it ages someone quicker. Sometimes the lifestyle we lead in racing can actually double our years through stress and not taking care of ourselves.

“I learned my lesson.”

Now he wants others to learn their lesson.

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