Cale Aronson has never been so happy to get his butt kicked. 

The IHRA Pro Stock racer from Chillicothe, Mo., sees the regulated abuse as a sign one day he will be able to leave the mobility of his wheelchair and walk again.  Aronson was critically injured in an accident while racing April 25, 2015, which left him with a broken neck and spinal cord injury which resulted in him having little or no feeling below his neck. He underwent surgery three days later to repair damage caused by compressed vertebra. 

This so-called abuse Aronson's experiencing is the regimented rehab he's presently undergoing while a resident at the Jackson Rehab Hospital in Miami, Fla. 

"The rehab has been kicking my butt," said Aronson. "Dr. Green's resident, Angela, has been top notch. She let me know I am doing a lot better than I was two weeks ago. She said with me sitting up and doing stuff on my own, that I am making tremendous progress."
 
And it’s the simple things such as writing his name that has Aronson smiling broader than ever. 

"At least I can answer my phone now," Aronson said with a chuckle. 

Aronson’s phone is the conduit to a minor measure of normalcy in what used to be a life lived at, and no pun intended, breakneck speed.  
He’s still as busy as ever, but with a different kind of schedule than before his accident at the IHRA Palm Beach Nationals. 

"My schedule is really tight," Aronson explained, discussing his rehab process. "Most people do occupational therapy for an allotted time, take a break and then do physical therapy before taking another break."

Aronson isn't most people by nature.

"From 10 AM to 1:30 PM, I am wide open," Aronson said. "I cram it all in so I can take care of business."

Business for Aronson is returning to an active role with Ace Racing Clutches. He works his phone from a wheelchair, meticulously assisting customers with clutch graphs, all the while communicating with the office back in Sullivan, Mo., on current product development. 

"When I am in work mode, the doctors leave me alone as much as possible after I have finished my rehab," said Aronson. "Then I wake up in the morning, get dressed and start the process all over again. It's a seven-days a week program."

Getting back to contributing to his work at Ace has been a large impetus in his ahead-of-schedule rehab program. 

"My guys were chasing an issue and I was able to look at the situation with a fresh set of eyes and we were able to solve the issue," Aronson said with excitement in his voice. 

Aronson said he had several projects at Ace which were in the advanced development stages at the time of the accident. Those projects are back underway as he recovers. 

"We are ramping back up," Aronson said. "I'm looking forward in the next three to five weeks to being back in the St. Louis area. I will actually be able to go back to the office and work with my engineers."

More of a challenge than getting up and walking again for Aronson has been the acceptance he cannot get all of his chores caught up in a day. He’s learning the fine art of pacing himself, although friends and family have pitched in to ensure he doesn’t get too far ahead of where he needs to be. 

"Interesting thing about it all ... I've had about three dozen customers who refused to contact me because they felt they would be bothering me while I recuperated. I have to beg them, 'call me, let me know."

Aronson said one instance where he had three clutches in need of attention and good friend/crewman James Smith at ARC Race Cars stepped in to handle the situation. 

"That's just one example of how so many people have stepped up to help me in the middle of all this," said Aronson. 

Aronson says as horrific as the experience has been; he’s got a hankering to drive a race car again. 

"If I am able I will," Aronson said. "There's a simple drive inside of me which makes me not like the idea of being defeated by anything."

And, until he gets back behind the wheel, he's working overtime to develop a procedure he's more than willing to share with the intent of preventing another racer from suffering the same fate he experienced.

"I don't know of any reason we can't make some changes to protect the drivers," Aronson said. "[Fellow Pro Stock racer] John Montecalvo has already made safety provisions within his car. This should never happen again."

Aronson said his focus is on the clearance of the rollbar to the drivers head. 

"You just cannot sit one inch away," Aronson said. "You cannot have your head touching that roll bar. You need about three to four inches of clearance and your belts holding you down. Not all safety equipment works the same for everyone across the board. I would suggest each racer carefully study their car and decide which works best for them. Regardless of what it takes, they have to get their heads away from the top rollbar. 

"We all know a belt will stretch a little bit," Aronson explained. "If it stretches up to three inches when you get in a bad flip, and your head hits, regardless if it doesn't do what it did to me, it can still do you major damage."

Aronson said through consultation with his doctors and a gut feeling, within 18 months he hopes to be up and walking without assistance. 

"I'm still in what the doctors categorize as spinal shock," said Aronson. "You really don't see lots of gains during this time. I feel pretty fortunate to have made it this far." 

Patience to live within limitations, Aronson believes, is his best virtue. 

"I'm healthy as a horse except for this whole walking thing," said Aronson with a smile. "But that will come in time. I've already learned valuable lessons, and if having to experience this, to save someone else from a worse fate, it's been worth it."

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