Ryan Bergenty, Gilliland Crew Chief, Has Stent Placed; Will Not Miss Atlanta
It was a scary situation, but thankfully Ryan Bergenty, the crew chief for Todd Gilliland and the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports team, listened to what his body told him. The 41-year-old crew chief knew something didn't seem right, and he took the proactive measure to be seen by a physician following last weekend's Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
It turns out that Bergenty had a serious health issue developing as he had a significant blockage of his main artery. In a Friday evening post on X, Bergenty revealed that he underwent a medical procedure this week to place a stent into his main artery. Incredibly, Bergenty will not miss this weekend's Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
"Listen to your body! I'm thankful for the energy and courage that god gave me this week to go get checked out," Bergenty said in his post on X. "At a young 41 years old, I had a stent installed into my main artery to repair an 80% blockage. I beat the curve for any damage and I'll be ready to win a race on Sunday!"
Listen to your body! I’m thankful for the energy and courage that god gave me this week to go get checked out. At a young 41 years old, I had a stent installed into my main artery to repair a 80% blockage. I beat the curve for any damage and I’ll be ready to win a race on Sunday!
— Ryan Bergenty (@RyanBergenty) September 6, 2024
In a follow-up response to motorsports journalist Alan Cavanna, Bergenty described the symptoms that led to him getting checked out.
"Slight chest discomfort intermittently, always wanted to crack my ribs and ever so often a slight sting in the center of my chest," Bergenty detailed. "The last sting went into my neck a little and knew something wasn't right."
Bergenty's story is an excellent reminder that if something doesn't feel right inside of your body, it more than likely isn't right. Luckily, Bergenty opted to get checked out due to the discomfort he felt, and even more fortunate, the blockage was caught before any severe damage had been done to the crew chief.
Bergenty, who made his NASCAR Cup Series crew chief debut in a one-off race with Dexter Bean in 2009, had served as a crew member for various race teams throughout his NASCAR career. In 2023, Bergenty received the call to serve as the full-time crew chief of the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford Mustang.
In 62 starts as a crew chief for Front Row Motorsports, Bergenty has collected eight top-10 finishes, and with Bergenty on the pit box, Gilliland is sitting 21st in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings. With 10 races left in the season, Gilliland has already tied his career-high mark for top-10s in a season with four. After finishing 28th in the championship standings in each of the last two seasons, Gilliland sits 21st in the point rankings heading into Sunday's Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.