Scott Pfeiffer (r), with NASCAR driver Derek Thorn

NASCAR Team Partners with The ALS Association to Raise Awareness, Funding in Fight Against Lou Gehrig’s Disease

By Dan Gordon

For Scott Pfeiffer, 2007 started out like a dream.

42-year-old Fort Atkinson, Wisc., resident, was at the center of the sport he loved, serving as the agent for NASCAR driver Derek Thorn. Pfeiffer, a lifelong NASCAR fan who himself ran midget and sprint cars when he was younger, saw his 21-year-old client burst onto the scene in his first season, finishing fifth overall and as runner-up for the Pat Bourdow Memorial Rookie of the Year award in the 2007 ASA Late Model Series Challenge Division.

But in May, the dream took an unexpected turn. Pfeiffer was told by his doctor that the muscle weakness and speech impairment he was experiencing were early signs of a progressive neurodegenerative disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Pfeiffer’s initial reaction to the news was one of bewilderment.

“When the doctor said, ‘You have ALS,’ I looked at him and shrugged my shoulders as if to say, ‘What’s that?’” recalls Pfeiffer, who is married with two children, ages 5 and 2. “He said, ‘Motor-neuron disease,’ and I had the same reaction. Then he said, ‘Lou Gehrig’s Disease.’ I knew that wasn’t a good thing, but I still didn’t know anything about it.” (more…)