Last year, however, there was quite a bit of“ for worse”. After partnering with Marvin Benoit and Papa Motorsports and debuting the first C7 Corvette Roadster at the tail end of the 2016 season, 2017 followed with one bad break after another. New-car blues hit, and, even when those weren’ t plaguing the Furrs, they were often headed home early.

“ New car blues hit us, silly little things,” Michelle explains.“ When it wasn’ t anything with the car, it was one of those years where if I had

a. 001 package, the guy in the other lane had a. 000 package. If I had a. 010 package, they had a. 009 package. It was like that in Super Gas and in the dragster. I really began to doubt myself. Maybe I’ d lost it. Maybe it’ s just not meant to be.”

By the end of 2017, things began to turn around and Ricky and Michelle prepared for 2018 with high hopes. Then, one week before their season was to begin at the NHRA Division 2 race at Gainesville Raceway, their world came crashing down.

“ You realize what’ s really important. I just can’ t tell you how blown away I was,” Michelle begins.“ Ricky was at work when he hurt his arm. He was trying to get a water cutoff unstuck with a channel lock. His tendon came loose from the outside of his shoulder and slid down and around, bunched up around his bicep. We went to the ER to see if there was anything they could do because his hand started going numb and his arm was swelling to about two or three times its normal size.”

What should have been a routine diagnosis quickly turned serious.

“ They gave him morphine and within two minutes he basically coded,” Michelle continues.

“ He fell forward, gasped for breath, eyes back

in his head. He was convulsing and gray and then stopped breathing. They all came in when I screamed for them and for Ricky. I have never been so scared in my life. They were yelling for Narcan and Benadryl. They couldn’ t find his pulse and hooked him up to so many machines and leads. Then he started breathing slowly but all his stats were so low. Finally, he began to get some color.“ I realize how precious every moment is now.” After quite literally meeting death, the Furrs were ready for a new lease on life. And racing. After all they’ d been through, Ricky and Michelle were ready for a break from their troubles. But it wasn’ t coming just yet.

With Ricky on the mend from his morphine reaction and an assurance from the doctor that his tendon injury wouldn’ t get worse, they left Virginia and headed to Florida. But the jack on their RV wouldn’ t retract. The heat wouldn’ t work. They made it to Georgia only to have the Jake brake break and the RV refuse to move over 50 mph.

Finally, they rolled into Gainesville Raceway at 8:30 a. m. before time trials began at 9. They managed to get parked, unloaded and teched and were ready to get their brand-new engine and

PHOTO: ANGELA NEELY / AUTO IMAGERY