Tony was very unwell for quite some time, and his health put an end to his Dirt Late Model program, eventually he was diagnosed with Sarcoidosis.  

Tony first noticed something wasn’t right with his health in October 2015 but didn’t think it was anything serious.  

He had been testing the Col Robinson owned Warrior Dirt Late Model in late 2015 through early 2016, with a plan to race in the 2016/17 Australian Late Model Season.  

After returning from a Late Model fact finding mission to America in July 2016 Tony's health issue raised its head once again. It wasn’t long before he realized that his dream of Dirt Late Model Racing was over (for NOW)

"I really felt like I had let all my supporters, and Col (Robinson) and his team down, but unfortunately I had no choice but to pull the plug" 

He was having tests after tests after tests with no answers, he struggled to keep working as his symptoms gradually got worse. Then is September 2017 while he and his wife Michelle were visiting three of their kids in Melbourne, Tony took a turn for the worse, collapsing in agonizing pain.  

They rushed straight home to more tests, finding swollen Lymph Nodes throughout his body, including his oesophagus, lungs, heart, liver, and pancreas. The initial diagnosis we Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma.  

After a PET scan, and a heart biopsy, Sarcoidosis was now being considered. All this while Tony was spending everyday laying on the couch at home shaking, crying, in overwhelming pain, suffering from fatigue so bad that he was struggling to shower more than a couple of times a week., as he was still basically untreated.  

In January 2018 he was finally officially diagnosed with Sarcoidosis, after the disease was found in both of his eyes. 

Jump forward to January 2019, after a year of treatment Tony is now functioning as a human again, his pain is being well managed, and he is also on 3000 mg of Chemotherapy every day as part of his extensive medication. 

Tony is the first to admit he is nowhere near 100% yet, but he is ready and able to start working on building a good Super Sedan and go racing soon. 

Working on a race car at home is exactly the physical therapy Tony needs right now, it gets him off the couch and in the shed doing something that excites him, with a clear goal in sight for the #17.

The first part of the battle is over. 

You can help, you can be involved! 

http://tonysouthwell.com/i-need-your-help-sponsorship