Roller coasters prescribed as treatment for NASCAR driver

Posted | Contributed by 1badgmc

NASCAR Winston Cup driver, Terry Labonte, suffered injuries in a crash at a race about a month ago. His injuries have kept him from racing since then, effectively ending his Iron Man streak of 655 consecutive Winston Cup starts dating back to 1978. He has been suffering from dizziness and nausea. He made a few practice laps in a car earlier this week, after which his doctors told him that he should go ride some roller coasters to help speed up his recovery. And so he did. He spent the day at Paramount's Kings Dominion on Thursday and he rode and rode...and rode......and rode roller coasters all day long.

Related parks

Kings Dominion

WOW!!! :) How can I get some of that medicine? :)

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Parks hit for 2000!
PKD,BGW,DP,HP,PKI,HW,SFKK,SFA,SFNE,LC,GE,QP,Camden,Lakemont,Knoebels, SFO,CP,

I heard this item on RPM Tonight last night. Labonte lives near Charlotte (as do most drivers), so they called Carowinds to see about riding. They were closed, so Carowinds directed Labonte to PKD.

Yep, RPM 2 Night is where I got my info from.

Could someone please explain the "medicine" to me? I know several people who can't ride roller coasters because of vertigo. How could this help his situation?

I think it is because he needs to experience high speeds and g-forces without having to worry about lose control of a potentially dangerous car.

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http://www.geocities.com/munkres.geo/

I think if you polled race car drivers, they would tell you that we are crazy and that they feel safer behind the wheel of their car.

They probably would say that coaster ed...He should have gone to CP and ride MF

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"Go Full Force."
Millennium Force

Now, I wanna see the commercial that says, "9 out of 10 Doctors agree......" I've always said that roller coasters were good for you!

Maybe going to the doctor isn't so bad after all.

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http://www.coasterriders.freeservers.com

See, the government was so worried about us coaster fanatics' health, and a doctor recomends it to a race car driver for his recovery. It just goes to prove to the government that coasters aren't unhealthy. HA!
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THE BEASTmaster
www.geocities.com/byostie

Can you take me higher? (CREED) *** This post was edited by THE BEASTmaster on 8/21/2000. ***

UPDATE:

The roller coaster therapy was a success for Terry Labonte. He returned to racing yesterday (Sunday) feeling just fine.

Here's an article that tells more details:
http://www.nascar.com/news/2000/0819/1002630.html

Also, on RPM2Day yesterday on ESPN, they said that Labonte had to buy a season pass and return to the park on Friday because the lines were so long on Thursday. Yeah, right! He HAD to buy a season pass and return on Friday?!? I think it's more like he WANTED to go back again! ;) hehe

This is just proof that coasters are not harmful and can actually be therapeutic at times, but you'll never see CNN or MSNBC reporting something like this. "Killer Coasters" will get more ratings than "Coaster Therapy."

I wish i had of been at PKD that day, this would have been an interesting site to see!!!

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Webmaster of The Rollercoaster Cavern
www.angelfire.com/md/coasters2ride

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