At only 24, circumstances have caused Matt Tifft's NASCAR career to become dramatically different from what he originally envisioned. Thankfully, the co-owner of Live Fast Motorsports was able to achieve a major milestone off the track as he tries to work through health issues that have kept him out of the driver's seat.
On Monday, Matt Tifft shared in a post on Twitter that he returned to the driver's seat of a car for the first time since 2019 after going a full six months without suffering a seizure. Tifft, who raced full-time for Front Row Motorsports during the 2019 Cup Series season, revealed in January that he had been diagnosed with epilepsy after suffering seven seizures in a period starting in October of 2019.
This marked the first time Tiff has been behind the wheel of a car since prior to a practice session for a Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway. After having to be hospitalized for a seizure prior to the start of practice, Tifft missed the final four races of his rookie season and has not raced in NASCAR since.
6 months seizure free!!! After not driving for 2 years (Martinsville 2019) I’m finally back on the road! pic.twitter.com/zk8WCT99PN
— Matt Tifft (@matt_tifft) May 10, 2021
In a January report by Dustin Long of NBC Sports, Tifft had shared the effects that his epilepsy diagnosis had on his personal life, revealing that he suffered from anxiety issues out of fear of what could happen to him if he left the house. But learning of others who have epilepsy made him more willing to be open about his condition.
"People with epilepsy, we still are normal functioning people," Tifft told NBC Sports. "It's literally an electrical firestorm in your brain. When you have a seizure, it's like a surge protector shutting it down to keep your body from harming itself."
After racing full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Joe Gibbs Racing and Richard Childress Racing, Tifft moved to the Cup Series full-time in 2019 as the driver of a third car for Front Row Motorsports. Tifft ran 32 races with one Top 10 finish, a ninth-place outing at Daytona in July.
Since having to step out of the driver's seat, Tifft has become the co-owner of Live Fast Motorsports, a first-year Cup Series team which fields the No. 78 Ford for several drivers including team co-owner B.J. McLeod.
