If race car driver Eric Hardin crashes in Saturday’s Big O Tires NASCAR Grand National West Series 150 at Miller Motorsports Park, and that’s a possibility considering the rough-and-tumble nature of the series lately, chances are he won’t have trouble explaining it to his parents. After all, it can’t be worse than the first time.

Hardin, 25, who drives the No. 5 Alta Dena Dairy Chevy in the series, contracted cancer in his lungs when he was 12, and it slowly moved into his bones. Eventually, the disease claimed the lower half of his right leg, including part of his knee.

The Anaheim, Calif., native now wears a prosthetic right leg when he drives, but it hardly slows him down. He’s No. 7 in the driver points standings, with a couple top-five finishes to his credit.

“I don’t think [the prosthetic leg] hurts me that much when I’m driving,” he said Thursday, 15 minutes after arriving at MMP for the first time. “It’s not really a disadvantage. It is harder to feel the throttle a little bit, but it doesn’t slow us down. It’s not the reason I haven’t won a race yet.”

Hardin uses his thigh muscles to control the throttle (gas pedal), and wears a slightly different prosthetic when he drives.
“It is a little bit lighter, and it swings a little bit more freely,” he said. “It just works better for driving. The socket is the same. I just change the bottom part.”

Another NASCAR Grand National West Series driver, Brian Ickler, was Hardin’s teammate last year and has competed against his fellow Californian in off-road, Baja and NASCAR events for the last six years.

“It absolutely amazes me that he can drive with a prosthetic leg,” Ickler said. “I have no idea how he does it. I can’t even imagine. You use that right foot for the throttle all the time, and you have to have a great feel for that gas pedal when you’re shifting and cornering and all that. The brake pedal is different. It’s not as precise. . . . All the competitors out here have the utmost respect for Eric.”

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