by Bill Bernard
5/27/2012

I was very fortunate to survive the ordeal and give many thanks for a second chance at life. But what happened in ICU is well documented. I met my crew chief and now best friend, Conrad “Joe” Ardine. No, we weren’t “racers” per say at the time, but we were both experienced mechanics and had been around racing and fast cars our whole lives. Our love and passion for the sport was embedded deep in our souls as we both had a long yearning to turn left. It was fate that brought us together.  We both damn near died, at the same time, wound up in the same hospital, had the same procedure, same docs and ended up sharing a room in cardiac intensive care. The days and nights went by slowly but it was our time together that healed us and gave us strength as life was about to change for us forever.

As we were being discharged from the hospital I said to Joe if the docs give us a clean bill of health, what do you think about buying a late model stock car and having some fun? I’m sure he was thinking that I was full of malarkey. Well, six months later, sitting in the doc’s office, I got the green flag, called Joe right up and said let’s go find a car. I thought he was gonna choke. That’s how it all started for WC Racing, aka: “The Cardiac Kids”.

We struggled terribly our first year in a car that had more ghosts in it than all of Salem. Couple that with our inexperience and wow, a recipe for failure. Or was it? We learned so much in that short year as we rolled up our sleeves, worked real hard and made every show.  We bought a proven car the next season, made every show again and this time had something for everyone else. It took a few years for us to win our first race, something that thousands and thousands of racers across this great land have never done. We are committed to not only being a competitive team, but the one to watch. The lights in our garage burn bright night after night just for the chance to put our front bumper across the finish line first.

But we have another focus that is near to our hearts, our health. For years we did, like millions of Americans, nothing about our health care. Our poor habits and life styles damned near planted us deep into the earth. So we talk, to all who will listen to our story, in hopes that folks will think twice about what they eat and exercise, taking responsibility and being proactive in their health care. Yup, The Cardiac Kids have a message to share.  It is one of hope.   Life is short.  Live it to its fullest each and every day.