NASCAR News: Sidelined by Brain Tumor, Former Cup Series Star Matt Tifft Teases Racing Comeback With Cryptic Message

If you think the fast lanes of NASCAR are a tough place to be in, wait till you discover what life is all about. The popularized monologue from the Hollywood movie, Rocky Balboa: “The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life,” is a testament to how unpredictable our journey can be.

And 27-year-old NASCAR Cup Series driver Matt Tifft was reminded of it when he suffered from a seizure in 2019 and his rookie season in the elite division came to a crashing stop. But just like a resilient fictional character in a movie, Tifft was far from giving up while also battling a brain tumor. However, despite his health conditions, the driver has been a part of the track, competing in select races. As for a full-time return, nothing could be said for sure. But now, the Live Fast Motorsports co-owner, after his four-year-long hiatus, recently teased a possible comeback on social media.

Matt Tifft’s latest tweet is all about the #57

2019 was the year the Fairfax, Virginia native thought it would be his year. Eyeing a sensational rookie season, the then 23-year-old, Matt Tifft kicked off his first full-time season in NASCAR’s elite division. After racing full-time in the Xfinity Series for with the Toyota camp at Joe Gibbs Racing and teaming up with the Chevy side at Richard Childress Racing, Tifft moved up to the Cup Series full-time in 2019 as the driver of a third car for Front Row Motorsports.

But after 32 races in the faction that got him one top-10 finish with a decent ninth-place effort at Daytona in July 2019, the driver suffered a major epileptic episode at Martinsville. While this forced him to take time off the fast lane, he returned to the NASCAR competition as a co-owner of Live Fast Motorsports, which was founded in 2020. The driver’s indomitable spirit was certainly what kept him pushing. 

Now, coming to the talk of the town, the word is Tifft is making a possible NASCAR return. Taking it to his social media, the driver noted, “Tomorrow, got a big announcement coming. Stay tuned.” The post essentially teased his followers with a new update assuring an announcement by 7 pm EST on Wednesday, with an image featuring a #57, attached to the tweet. His journey so far has been one for the books and the driver has always portrayed an openness when it comes to sharing his thoughts. Speaking about his mental state, the driver opened up about his thought process.

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The comeback road – Tifft reveals the “hard part” of the journey

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Sitting on the bench while another driver races in your place is something no one wants to go through. But that became a reality for Matt Tifft as the driver stayed off the track for two years.

However, 2021 proved to be the driver’s comeback year as he, for the first time after the Martinsville incident, stepped inside a passenger car – something that Tifft never thought would be possible. He then went on to run three Late-Model races in Wisconsin, slowly yet steadily inching closer, clawing his way to a NASCAR return. Talking to Racing America about his journey, he said, “The hard part about it is you can prepare and do all you want all week and all season and really all off season, you can do all that all you want, but the real fact of it is you are on the pit box.”

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He further added, “So just like anyone racing, you feel the highs and lows of it, but you’re not in control. As a driver, the wheel is in your hand. Does it suck sometimes as a driver? Yeah, it does. You have bad days, but you have that direct control over the car. When you are on the box, you’re not able to feel it. You just feel a totally different set of emotions.”

With a new announcement on the schedule, fans can certainly hope for some good news. We’ll have to wait till tomorrow to find out!