After a devastating crash at Eldora halted his 2025 championship charge, Tyler “Sunshine” Courtney is back in the seat—and he’s not just looking for speed; he’s looking for redemption.
By Jim Foose – Speedway Action Magazine
The nickname “Sunshine” implies warmth, consistency, and an inevitable presence. But for the last six months of the 2025 Sprint Car season, the Clauson Marshall Racing (CMR) hauler felt a little colder. The No. 7BC, usually a fixture at the front of the pack, was present, but its heart was missing.
This February, at Volusia Speedway Park, the sun is finally scheduled to rise again.
Tyler Courtney, one of the most electric talents in modern dirt racing, is set to make his competitive return to the cockpit this week. It marks the end of a grueling rehabilitation from a violent crash at Eldora Speedway last July—a wreck that didn’t just end his season; it threatened his career.
The Day the Light Went Out
July 17, 2025. The Knight Before the Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway. It was supposed to be another chapter in Courtney’s pursuit of the High Limit Racing championship. Instead, it became a moment of silence that silenced the grandstands.
On the opening lap, Courtney was involved in a vicious multi-car incident. The impacts were brutal, the kind that make veteran safety crews move with extra urgency. While Courtney was alert and communicating, the damage was internal and severe: a fractured T7 vertebra.
“Those are tough times when you kinda think your career might be over,” Courtney admitted recently.
The diagnosis required spinal fusion surgery—fusing T5 through T9—and an immediate, indefinite halt to racing. In an instant, Courtney went from trading sliders for a national title to learning how to move without pain.
The Long Road Back
For a racer, the only pain worse than a broken bone is the view from the couch. While substitute drivers like Giovanni Scelzi kept the CMR seat warm, Courtney faced a dark period of physical therapy and uncertainty. He dealt with cranial nerve damage that caused temporary double vision—a terrifying symptom for a man who makes a living spotting gaps at 140 mph.
But the resilience that defines a champion isn’t forged in victory lane; it’s forged in rehab clinics. Courtney spent the autumn months of 2025 rebuilding his core strength, waiting for the fusion to heal, and watching the sport move on without him.
“I think it’s made me stronger mentally,” Courtney said of the recovery. “It was more important to prove to people that this can happen to you, but it’s up to me to make it happen and get back to where I was before.”
Volusia: A New Dawn
Now, the waiting is over. Cleared by doctors and hungry for the methanol fumes, Courtney heads to Volusia Speedway Park to begin his 2026 campaign. The timing is poetic; Volusia often signals the start of the dirt racing year, a place of fresh starts and clean slates.
For Courtney, the goal remains unchanged, even if his perspective has shifted. The 2025 High Limit title may have slipped away in that ambulance ride at Eldora, but the 2026 season is wide open. The No. 7BC is prepped, the spine is reinforced, and the driver is ready to remind the world why they call him Sunshine.
Expect the first lap at Volusia to be tentative? Don’t bet on it. Tyler Courtney only knows one way to drive: throttle down, elbows up.
Editor’s Note: Courtney went on to pick up the ASCS Feature win in his return to action on Thursday, January 29th at Volusia Speedway Park.
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