Patel Pushes Through Pain For Gratifying Platinum Masters Podium At Sebring

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A discovery Jay Patel made while climbing out of bed in late February at his Indiana home led him on an unlikely journey to the podium three weeks later at Sebring International Raceway.

 

Patel, from Crown Point, Indiana, overcame the pain from a broken left foot suffered in a crash during testing in late February at NOLA Motorsports Park to finish third in the Platinum Masters class in Round 2 of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama at Sebring.

 

“I’ve never had an incident like this,” Patel said. “I’ve never broken a bone. And I decided to get into a race car and race Sebring, and with the competition level we have, you have to give it your all.

 

“For me, it was more than giving your all. It was the psychological aspect of what occurred a couple of weeks prior and also dealing with the foot at the same time, the driving, and keeping it all together. We had the heat, too. There was a lot going on for me. Like anything, I had to keep my calm and just focus on what I had to do, and that was what got me where I was.”

 

The third-place finish was the sweet culmination of a winding path back into the cockpit of his No. 00 Kelly-Moss Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car after the crash in testing.

 

Before Patel even visited the hospital, he checked with Kelly-Moss Vice President Jeff Stone about the condition of his car and whether it could be repaired in time for Sebring.

 

“I talked to Jeff Stone, and he said he could get a new tub and get the car rebuilt.” Patel said. “(His) question is whether you’ll be ready for Sebring. My attitude is to never give up, so I said, ‘I’ll be there.’ That’s just the positive attitude.

 

“But who knows what was going to happen. That was before I went to the hospital. I knew I broke (the foot), but I didn’t know how long or how bad it was going to be, whether I could walk on it. But I was just being optimistic.”

 

His positive attitude jumped into high gear after a chance occurrence a few days after he suffered the injury.

 

Patel, a physician specializing in interventional radiology, and his father, an orthopedic surgeon, were mulling treatment options for his injured foot as Jay hobbled around in an immobilizing boot. His injury, known as a Jones fracture, can heal by itself or require an operation.

 

Then one night, about five days after the injury, Jay Patel received an emergency call to report to the hospital for a patient.

 

He climbed from his bed to prepare to rush into work, walking around his home — without the immobilizing boot on his left foot.

 

“I said, ‘Whoa, wait a minute,’ Patel said. “I was walking. I thought, ‘Why don’t I put a shoe on and go to work?’ I put on a bit bigger shoe. From then, I thought maybe this thing will heal up on time for Sebring.”

 

Another turning point came about a week to 10 days before the season-opening rounds March 19-20 at Sebring. Patel decided to work out for about 45 minutes on an elliptical bike and a treadmill to check the pain levels of his foot. He tolerated the pain, and his foot felt good.

 

But there still was one mental barrier to scale. The 17-turn, 3.74-mile circuit at Sebring is notoriously rough and bumpy. It’s one of the toughest, most physical tracks in the world for drivers without a fractured foot bouncing around the cockpit.

 

But Patel dismissed any second thoughts almost immediately. Sebring was a go.

 

“The thought did cross my mind,” Patel said about skipping Sebring. “But I was looking forward to Sebring, and Sebring is a challenge, and that’s part of the whole reason why I wanted to go to Sebring, for the challenge of it. I knew I was going to be in pain and have some discomfort, but it was one of those things, it’s my commitment to it. I was committed. I said I was going to do it.”

 

Patel and the Kelly-Moss team made a few modifications so he could be comfortable at the track. First, Patel wore his driving shoes from the 2014 season, which were softer and more broken in, giving his swollen left foot more room. Kelly-Moss also added padding to the foot area of the cockpit of his No. 00 Porsche.

 

And most importantly, the Kelly-Moss crew and Patel’s wife, Nancy, had a bucket of ice ready for his foot after every on-track session at Sebring.

 

Patel also adjusted his driving style to compensate for his foot. The jostling g-forces generated by the bumpy turns at Sebring often require a driver to brace their body with their left foot. That was a problem for Patel until he used a technique that also helps him drive his Porsche with more speed.

 

“Every time I had to go through the corner, I had to balance where the pain is and bouncing around the car,” Patel said. “So if I started feeling it in the upper aspect of the foot, I would shift the load to the lower aspect of the foot. It’s the same thing as driving. When you’re going around that corner, you’re balancing the car, and I was balancing my foot at the same time.”

 

The third-place finish in Round 2 was Patel’s first trip to the podium for the powerful Kelly-Moss team, which he joined during the offseason. Patel debuted in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama with Dempsey Racing in 2014, scoring two podium finishes and placing fifth in the Platinum Masters standings.

 

When it became clear last year Dempsey Racing was shifting its competition focus in 2015, Patel started conversations with Stone and the Kelly-Moss organization. He was impressed with the team’s driving coaching and development last season, especially the progress of Platinum Cup champion Colin Thompson in 2014.

 

That made for an easy decision for Patel, 46, to join Kelly-Moss in 2015.

 

“I’m learning to drive better and at this level,” Patel said. “I need as much education and staffing that I can because I’m relatively new to this sport. So why not get the best coaches I can to help me move along and see where I can go with this?”

 

Patel’s motorsports experience started in the grandstands of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, watching the Indianapolis 500 with his father. That experienced spawned similar racing dreams as many young Indiana boys, unfulfilled wishes for many.

 

But Patel never lost touch with that dream. His true immersion into racing began in a Wegmans’ grocery store parking lot in 2001 in Rochester, New York.

 

Patel was working at hospitals in the Rochester area, finishing his final medical studies and preparations. A man approached him in the grocery store parking lot after noticing his BMW passenger car and asked Patel if he was interested in taking the car on a racetrack. Patel said yes, and he was told to report to Watkins Glen International – located about 90 minutes south of Rochester – with his car on a certain date.

 

With a mixture of excitement and trepidation, Patel bought safety equipment and found a shop that prepped his car for a driver education day. Patel headed to The Glen.

 

“I went around the track, and I was pretty bad,” Patel said. “The instructor got in the car and said, ‘Let me show you how it’s done.’ I did it, and I emulated him as best as I could. It was a big improvement, and one thing led to another.”

 

Patel moved to the Chicago area and started participating in track days in a Porsche at Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Illinois. In 2007, a friend who was a driving instructor suggested Patel should try racing.

 

The friend also said Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup champion Wolf Henzler was coming to Road America soon and would be willing to coach Patel for a day. Patel jumped at the chance to learn and receive an honest assessment from the Porsche GT star.

 

“I spent the day with him, and I said: ‘OK, tell it to me like it is. Here’s what’s going on. Someone told me I should go racing. What’s your opinion?’ He said, ‘Go racing.’ That’s when we decided we were going racing.”

 

Patel jumped into Sports Car Club of America competition in 2008 in a BMW fielded by Chicago-area team Fall-Line Motorsports, eventually moving to a Porsche 996. He finished fourth in 2013 in the Touring 2 class of the SCCA National Championship Runoffs.

 

His engineer, Jim Bell, asked Patel about his goals for racing after that strong finish in the Runoffs. Patel said he wanted to race in the Rolex 24 At Daytona and maybe the 24 Hours of Le Mans, earning his way as a driver. Bell had just landed a job with Dempsey Racing and invited Patel to the Roar Before the 24 in January 2014 at Daytona International Speedway.

 

Patel turned laps at Daytona, and the Dempsey team brain trust suggested the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama would be a great place for him to learn and improve his skill amid challenging competition.

 

“Patrick Dempsey, Joe Foster and Jim Bell said it would be a good opportunity, and I talked with my wife and said: ‘Let’s do this. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.'”

 

Patel is making the most of that opportunity this season with a new team, even with a temporary hitch in his stride to the podium.

 

Adam Sinclair
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