Start your engines!

Former Gamecock drives health of NASCAR team

When he wants to gently joke with his parents, Scott McNair re-tells the story of his first day at Carolina.

The seven-year-old, eight-pound, Old English, black-breasted red gamecock is owned by Carolina alumnus Mary Snelling, who received a bachelor’s degree in nursing in 1976 and a master’s degree in health education in 1979. A friend gave her the bird, her boyfriend Ron Albertelli takes care of it, and together the couple takes it to games.

This was news to his parents who, up until that moment, had been helping their son move from their hometown of Princeton, New Jersey, to Columbia to major in business. Their daughter was already at Carolina studying business.

For McNair, though, medicine had been a thought in his mind ever since he injured his knee playing high school sports.

“The knee had to be reconstructed, and learning about the surgery, recovery, and rehabilitation was a lot of fun,” said McNair, who threw the javelin as a member of the Carolina track team.

Instead of a business degree, McNair completed a BS in exercise physiology in 1989 and went on to graduate from Carolina’s School of Medicine in 1993. He now is board-certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation and practices in an urgent care center in Charlotte, N.C.

In 1996, McNair added another dimension to his medical career: he became the team physician for Hendrick Motorsports.

“A friend and I were invited by then–Team 24 crew chief Ray Evernham to go to Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee to watch a race, and we had a blast,” he said. “Later, racer Jeff Gordon had some issues with carbon monoxide. As a physician, I was the only one there at the time licensed to administer oxygen and IV fluids to him. After his condition improved, his team asked me to do this type of thing on a regular basis."

“So, 14 seasons later, my role has expanded to doing basic primary care for the racers, the crew, and their families. On race day, which typically is Sunday, I fly out of Concord, N.C, and go to the current race to take care of any injuries. On Monday, I might see some of these same people, as well as other members of the racing community, in my office.”

At the track, McNair often treats minor problems such as debris lodged in eyes and small cuts that need little more than a bandage. Unfortunately, he also sees more serious injuries.

“We had a rear tire changer break his hand, and another time a front tire changer broke a toe,” he said. “We made a special splint for him at the scene so that his toe would be protected and remain functional.

“In the 2000–01 season, I also helped the Yates team, and several pit crew members got hit by a car on pit road. One member got a significant head injury. Thankfully, he is back at work, and probably back to 99 percent of full function. Because of that accident, NASCAR mandated the rule that anyone who goes over the [pit road] wall must wear a helmet.

“What is that adage, ‘if you love what you do you’ll never work a day in your life?’ That’s the way medicine has always been for me,” McNair said. “To this day, my parents are still surprised that I chose medicine.”