When Will Smith dreamed about driving a Top Fuel dragster, he believed it was the kind of opportunity reserved for someone else.
When he heard about people battling cancer, he prayed for them, offered encouragement and quietly assumed that was a battle someone else would have to fight. Then both improbabilities became his reality, and they collided at the same point in his life.
Today, the scar running along the left side of Smith’s face means far more than any Wally trophy ever could. It is a reminder that he survived.
It is also a reminder that every pass down the dragstrip is borrowed time, every handshake in the pits is another blessing, and every opportunity to represent Scag Racing is one he refuses to waste.
“I thank God every day, numerous times a day for the opportunity to be here and the opportunity to take another breath and have another day,” Smith said. “But having the opportunity to be out here with Scag Racing full time, all the stars align. It’s been a long shot my whole life working towards this. This was always the goal, but there’s days when you have doubt and you think, well, can this or will this actually happen? But you just keep working at it and that’s where God steps in and shows you that put your faith in him and anything’s possible.”
For Smith, this season has never been measured strictly by reaction times or elapsed times. Months earlier, Smith was diagnosed with Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberans, or DFSP, a rare soft tissue sarcoma.Â
The biggest victory came away from the dragstrip, where surgeons removed the rare and aggressive form of skin cancer that required multiple procedures before doctors finally declared him cancer-free.
His first MRI following the Chicago event brought the news he had spent months praying to hear.
“It was definitely a tough time for sure,” Smith said. “I had my first follow-up MRI after the Chicago event and that was the first MRI since my last surgery and everything was still clear. So praise the Lord on that. And they’re keeping an eye on me with everything, but yeah, the scars are healing nice and I’m starting to get my smile back and my movement. So this Top Fuel car has definitely helped with all of that.”
The experience forced Smith to confront a reality many people choose to ignore until it becomes personal.
He admits he saw the spot on his face for more than a year before seeking medical attention, assuming it wasn’t serious enough to interrupt life.
“I think we all take it for granted,” Smith said. “And there’s been times I have. There’s been a lot of times I haven’t, but sometimes we get caught up in life and we put worldly things in front of us and our health in front of God. And so it’s taught me a lot. There’s only one of us and it’s up to us to take care of ourselves and keep a check on things to stay on top of it because I had people tell me, they said, ‘Oh man, I’m so glad you caught it early.’ Honestly, I didn’t catch it early. I had the spot on my face for over a year. I just never thought anything about it. And that’s where I should have relied on someone else to make that decision. And so anyway, when I did get it checked out, it progressed a lot.”
He considers himself fortunate despite the diagnosis. The cancer was aggressive but slow growing, giving doctors an opportunity to remove it before it spread further.
“I got lucky that it was a slow growing type of cancer. Very aggressive, but slow growing,” Smith said. “So I wish I had caught it a year ago or done something about it when I saw it a year ago or a year before I had the surgery. So yeah, it definitely changed your perspectives on a lot of things and just life in general.”
Smith now views every unusual mark, every bug bite and every physical change differently than he once did.
“We get one life, one shot at this thing called life and one body and it’s very important we take care of ourselves,” Smith said. “And I will be the first to tell you, there’s been a lot of times, many years I haven’t taken the best care of myself and I’m trying to work on that and get better. So I think that’s a point that we all need to try to make is get healthy and stay healthy.”
Cancer also changed the way Smith thinks about assumptions. Like many people, he once believed skin cancer wasn’t as threatening as other forms of the disease until doctors explained otherwise.
“There’s times when those thoughts have come to mind over the years of life,” Smith said. “I can honestly tell you skin cancer is cancer and it can do the same things to you all other types of cancers do.”
“I guess I’m guilty to say that sometimes when I first heard the word, ‘Oh, you got cancer,’ and they told me the type that it was, but it’s a very rare form of skin cancer. You think, ‘Okay, well, they’ll go in and cut it out and have a scar there or whatever and go on about your way.’ But man, that was a very serious deal. I think I know I’ve been guilty that I’ve taken that for granted and I’m embarrassed to say that, but sometimes you don’t think it’s as serious as lung cancer or this or that, all these different types of cancers, but cancer’s not good. Doesn’t matter where it’s at on your body.”
The irony isn’t lost on Smith. The same disbelief he once attached to cancer was the same disbelief he carried about ever becoming a full-time Top Fuel driver.
“I pinch myself daily and people pay attention when Randy [Gloede] leans over in the car to give me good wishes on a good run,” Smith said. “I thank him every time for the opportunity to be here because these opportunities don’t come very often and they can be gone in a blink of an eye as well.”
What surprised Smith most wasn’t finally reaching Top Fuel. It was discovering that racing wasn’t the most meaningful part of the opportunity.
“I’ve worked my whole life, dreamed my whole life to be a full-time Top Fuel driver,” Smith said. “Now that it’s here, it’s not as much about the racing as I thought it would be. It’s about the impact you make on other people.”
He believes that impact begins long before the engine fires.
Every weekend, Scag Racing welcomes dealers, customers and distributors into its hospitality area, creating relationships Smith now considers every bit as important as what happens in competition.
“Our goal is to win in the tent,” Smith said. “We bring out our dealers and customers and distributors and entertain them for the weekend. And I love that. I’ve met so many wonderful people and when they leave here with a smile on their face or they tell you, ‘Man, you made my day or this is the best experience I’ve ever had,’ that’s what life’s about.”
“I truly believe that’s the best opportunity I can get out here.”
That perspective hasn’t softened his competitive approach.
Veteran drivers have taken notice of Smith’s reaction times and steady performances, compliments that still resonate with someone who once stood behind the ropes watching many of those same champions.
“We have a great team,” Smith said. “This Bluebird Turf Team is just second to none. We roll up there and I know we’ve got a fully prepared and fast hot ride and it’s a great… There’s absolutely no doubt on that front. You roll up there and you’re like, ‘Okay, I just got to do my job. Everybody else has done theirs.'”
“This opportunity’s taught me a lot and I’ve improved a lot as a driver. This is my 28th year of racing and competition and I feel I’ve learned and done more at the halfway point of this year than I have collectively or in a very long time.”
Smith still sees the scar every morning. Unlike many survivors, he has no interest in hiding it.
“100%. It’s my championship right there,” Smith said. “Great team of supporters, including my race team here, family, friends, doctors. Everybody helped get me through that. And I look at the scar every day and I think what a blessing it is that everything God’s given me, helped me get through this situation and get this opportunity.”
“It taught me the most was fully trust God, put all your faith in him and he’ll get us through. But like I said, when I look at that scar, that’s my first championship right there. I wear this proud. I’m glad to have it.”
