Augie Grill Talks Montgomery Win, Cancer Diagnosis on 'Bullring Hot Lap'

Last Saturday, Augie Grill scored an emotional victory in the Show Me the Money Series at Montgomery Motor Speedway and shared he had been diagnosed with cancer in June. This week, Grill joined Alan Dietz on the latest “Bullring Hot Lap,” sharing more about his cancer battle and getting back behind the wheel.

“Honestly, it’s a lot of discomfort the past few months,” said Grill. “Not really a lot of pain, just being tired all the time. Just having to deal with all the different doctors. I’ve already done the chemo.

“Dealing with that from week to week, it just had me down a little bit. I’m trying to stay upbeat and keep a good, positive attitude, but it’s kind of tough when you don’t feel like doing anything.”

In recent weeks, however, Grill’s energy and drive has taken a positive turn. This led to a trip to Montgomery for a testing session that ultimately pushed the two-time Snowball Derby winner towards getting back to racing.

“Finally, the last few weeks have been pretty good. I’ve been feeling better. I actually had a customer that I had to go down to Montgomery with two weeks ago, and made some laps in my car then.

“The thing felt so good, I was like, I’d be crazy not to try to race next week. I’ve been feeling good. Lo and behold, a week and a half later, I decided to race. We go down there, have a good car and have a good weekend.”

Grill shared that he was diagnosed with rectal cancer. He encourages for others to be proactive when it comes to facing medical concerns, admitting that, while he is optimistic about his prognosis, he could have also taken steps towards quicker, more effective treatment.

“As far as the treatment stuff, I’m kind of in limbo right now as far as where I’m going next with the treatment. Everything’s going good. I don’t have an aggressive cancer. It’s rectal cancer, is what it is. I’ve got time to do what I need to do and try to have fun in between.

“Any doctor will tell you, if you catch it early, it’s better than trying to catch it halfway through or obviously it can get too late to treat anything. I was kind of dumb, I knew something was going on for a year or so. I was just kind of scared of what it might be, not wanting to know what it might be. I just put it off, put it off, put it off.”

The first signs that something may be wrong occurred for Grill as early as last year, with the week of the Snowball Derby pushing him towards finding answers.

“Last year at the Snowball Derby, that’s when it really finally hit me. I felt like crap the entire week, plus the weeks leading up to it. Working like a dog, trying to get everything ready and the stress of dealing with that and just feeling like crap all week. I made up my mind then I was going to do something.

“I hadn’t had a primary doctor in 25 years. I had to get that lined up and make that appointment. So I met with him and told him what was going on, and he said, ‘Maybe we need to schedule you a colonoscopy.’ Okay, let’s do that.

“A month later, we get the colonoscopy done, and sure enough, they find a mass in there. It was a whirlwind there for a while, but I kind of did it to myself. It wouldn’t have been as bad if I had done something about it quicker. I knew something wasn’t right, and I didn’t want to know what it was.”

With treatment underway and his health improving, Grill was back behind the wheel last Saturday at Montgomery. Despite the circumstances, Grill says Saturday’s win was the best he’s felt behind a race car in a long time.

While cooler temperatures certainly helped the Alabama driver who is plenty accustomed to steamy summer evenings along the Gulf Coast, he noted that improved dietary choices during his treatment also helped him behind the wheel.

“Luckily, it was fairly cool Saturday night. The heat really didn’t get to me. I’ll be honest, when I found out I had this going on, I started eating better right off the bat. Drinking a lot more water, staying away from high fructose corn syrup and sweets, try to eat better. It’s getting to a point where I’m starting to feel better just because of that.

“That’s probably the clearest my head has been in a race in a long time. I felt like I was sharp the entire race. I didn’t miss a beat. I never got tired. My brain never gave up. All in all, it was one of the best races I’ve had personally as a driver I’ve had in a long time, because my head was clear and I felt good. I probably drank two gallons of water on Saturday, and that helped, too.

“Making adjustments in my life to compensate for what I’ve got going on and try to make it better health-wise. We could all make a few steps like that in the right direction for our own health, because as we get older, it doesn’t get any easier.”

The past few months have also led Grill to finding out many people around him have also been diagnosed with rectal cancer.

“It’s a lot more common than I’d like to know, honestly. Since I found out I had it, I know quite a few people that are fairly close to me that I realize now had the same thing going on.

“It’s a very curable, very treatable cancer, but again, it’s a lot easier to deal with it if you find it quicker. I think a lot of men are scared of the colonoscopy, the idea of how it happens, but there’s nothing to it.”

Grill hopes to be back behind the wheel again soon, although it will not be in the coming weeks – not because of further health concerns, but due to the busy schedule that comes with being a father.

“I’d like to be running this weekend at Cordele [at the World Crown 300] and my kids have got football stuff going on and cheerleading. I was wanting to run something at the All American next week [at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway], and my daughter’s got a cheer competition.

“Hopefully, if everything keeps going like it is, I’ll be able to run something at the Snowball. I’m not sure really what yet, but hopefully I’ll be driving something down there.”

-Photo credit: Will Bellamy, Racing America