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GRAND-AM
IN THE COCKPIT: Andy Lally, Detroit
Cauliflower. It’s totally in, right?..
After an early week medical scare, Andy Lally took on the streets of Belle Isle. (Photo: Brian Cleary/GRAND-AM)
The June schedule for GRAND-AM is brutal this year. Detroit, to Mid-Ohio, then a weekend off, then Road America (Wisconsin), then Watkins Glen (New York), and capping off with a test at Indy. There’s not much time for doing anything else.
Unfortunately, my month started with a trip to the doctor.
As most people know, I’ve been doing a lot of mixed martial arts training (MMA), specifically Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and one of the risks is “cauliflower ear.”
If you’ve never heard of it, google it. Basically I suffered a wound to my left outer ear two weeks ago, and my ear immediately began to fill with a big bulb of blood. If you don’t treat it quickly, you can end up with a pretty deformed shape, and ear that looks a lot like cauliflower. Pretty hot, I know. If you haven’t seen it, there’s plenty of pics on my Facebook and Twitter pages (@AndyLally).
So, off to the doctor I go. I’m lucky that there was a pretty cool doctor who's used to these kind of injuries near the center I train at. I absolutely hate working out in gyms, so I typically get my exercise through more “interesting” activities, and a lot of times that ends up in a visit to just these types of doctors.
I’ve shown up in multiple doctors’ offices with some really, really, dumb injuries. Since kids might be reading this, I don’t want to give any ideas, but let’s just say I’m lucky that they always seem to take my visits in stride. My most recent visit was no different. He even let us video it!
27cc’s of blood later, and at least the swelling was reduced. A week later just before heading out to Detroit, I was back again. Luckily no one seemed to mind.
Before we get in to the race, this whole thing brought in to perspective my involvement in other sports. A lot of people, specifically team owners I’ve worked for, are always fighting with me on being involved in other sports.
I get it. A swollen ear isn’t nearly as bad as a broken bone that keeps me out of the car, or worse. If Robert Kubica hadn’t been rallying, he would still be in F1, and if Travis Pastrana wasn’t jumping bikes, he’d have been in Nationwide last year. At the same time, my ability to stay fit, and to stay focused, comes from all of these other sports. A mountain bike, a street luge, a big wheel, or training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu all contribute to what I can do in a car.
Racing is about fighting under adversity, everything has to stay sharp; your reflexes, your tolerance for pain, your tolerance of heat, your sense of balance, you name it. Working out in a gym doesn’t provide that if you ask me, you can only stay sharp by staying active. I like to stay active, I like to take risks. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to stay on top of my driving. Some many not like it, but recently I’ve tried to set my contracts and my negotiations to be able to do these things. That’s how I see it for now, and it works for me.
Heading in to Detroit, my ear was actually pretty sore. The good thing is, sore to me meant there was still “healing” going on, so at least I might not be completely deformed when all of this settles. The bad thing is, I wasn’t looking forward to putting a helmet on.
When we got to the track on Friday, the good thing is at least my helmet did fit! My ear definitely had added a little extra width to my head, but it wasn’t too painful. In fact, by Friday, most of the pain had gone away. This actually scares me a bit, because I hope my ear isn’t settling in with this new shape. Yikes.
The last time I was at Belle Isle in Detroit was in the old Barber Dodge series. I’d love to give you a big comparison on the track from then to now, but I don’t really remember it. The first couple of turns are the same, but I’m not smart enough to remember the rest. It was a long time ago.
The track today is definitely very tricky. It’s on public roads that aren’t used heavily, and they’re pretty old. There’s a lot of bumps, and a lot of patches, and the IndyCar’s proved on Sunday just how rough the surface really was.
The big thing is it’s very difficult to pass. You only have two straightaways, and neither end with a heavy braking zone, so it’s tough to get a run on a guy and then commit to the inside without a big risk. We’re in a championship fight, and with a field this close it’s tough to really dive underneath someone.
Unfortunately, my month started with a trip to the doctor.
As most people know, I’ve been doing a lot of mixed martial arts training (MMA), specifically Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and one of the risks is “cauliflower ear.”
If you’ve never heard of it, google it. Basically I suffered a wound to my left outer ear two weeks ago, and my ear immediately began to fill with a big bulb of blood. If you don’t treat it quickly, you can end up with a pretty deformed shape, and ear that looks a lot like cauliflower. Pretty hot, I know. If you haven’t seen it, there’s plenty of pics on my Facebook and Twitter pages (@AndyLally).
So, off to the doctor I go. I’m lucky that there was a pretty cool doctor who's used to these kind of injuries near the center I train at. I absolutely hate working out in gyms, so I typically get my exercise through more “interesting” activities, and a lot of times that ends up in a visit to just these types of doctors.
I’ve shown up in multiple doctors’ offices with some really, really, dumb injuries. Since kids might be reading this, I don’t want to give any ideas, but let’s just say I’m lucky that they always seem to take my visits in stride. My most recent visit was no different. He even let us video it!
27cc’s of blood later, and at least the swelling was reduced. A week later just before heading out to Detroit, I was back again. Luckily no one seemed to mind.
Before we get in to the race, this whole thing brought in to perspective my involvement in other sports. A lot of people, specifically team owners I’ve worked for, are always fighting with me on being involved in other sports.
I get it. A swollen ear isn’t nearly as bad as a broken bone that keeps me out of the car, or worse. If Robert Kubica hadn’t been rallying, he would still be in F1, and if Travis Pastrana wasn’t jumping bikes, he’d have been in Nationwide last year. At the same time, my ability to stay fit, and to stay focused, comes from all of these other sports. A mountain bike, a street luge, a big wheel, or training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu all contribute to what I can do in a car.
Racing is about fighting under adversity, everything has to stay sharp; your reflexes, your tolerance for pain, your tolerance of heat, your sense of balance, you name it. Working out in a gym doesn’t provide that if you ask me, you can only stay sharp by staying active. I like to stay active, I like to take risks. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to stay on top of my driving. Some many not like it, but recently I’ve tried to set my contracts and my negotiations to be able to do these things. That’s how I see it for now, and it works for me.
Heading in to Detroit, my ear was actually pretty sore. The good thing is, sore to me meant there was still “healing” going on, so at least I might not be completely deformed when all of this settles. The bad thing is, I wasn’t looking forward to putting a helmet on.
When we got to the track on Friday, the good thing is at least my helmet did fit! My ear definitely had added a little extra width to my head, but it wasn’t too painful. In fact, by Friday, most of the pain had gone away. This actually scares me a bit, because I hope my ear isn’t settling in with this new shape. Yikes.
The last time I was at Belle Isle in Detroit was in the old Barber Dodge series. I’d love to give you a big comparison on the track from then to now, but I don’t really remember it. The first couple of turns are the same, but I’m not smart enough to remember the rest. It was a long time ago.
The track today is definitely very tricky. It’s on public roads that aren’t used heavily, and they’re pretty old. There’s a lot of bumps, and a lot of patches, and the IndyCar’s proved on Sunday just how rough the surface really was.
The big thing is it’s very difficult to pass. You only have two straightaways, and neither end with a heavy braking zone, so it’s tough to get a run on a guy and then commit to the inside without a big risk. We’re in a championship fight, and with a field this close it’s tough to really dive underneath someone.
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