A personal message from World of Outlaws icon Eloy Gutierrez:

Dearest friends, colleagues, and racing family, many of you have noticed my absence from the racetrack and have reached out to ask where I’ve been. After much reflection, it is with a heavy heart I find myself needing to inform you of a serious health issue that has surfaced.

I have been undergoing treatment at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston for the past three weeks. After a barrage of testing and scanning, I have been diagnosed with several tumors that have a cancer signature, although doctors are still determining the type cancer I’m up against.

At this time, the medical staff is reviewing what treatment regiments will be needed to fight this war. All I can tell you is it WILL be a war. I have held off making this public as long as I felt I could, but I know questions of where I’ve been are mounting. All of you are my lifeline to what’s one of the most important things in my life, something I have dedicated a significant part of my life to — Sprint Car Racing.

I hoped to have more information that might provide timelines, but at this point I don’t have much more to report. I’m not one for social media, but the World of Outlaws will help me keep you all updated when I feel it’s necessary as I go through this battle. You can still reach out to me like normal, as well.

Your thoughts and prayers are certainly welcomed, and WE WILL wage a war!

ELOY

A native of Albuquerque, NM, Eloy Gutierrez went from working on safety-related elements of nuclear weapons systems at Sandia National Laboratories to becoming the co-founder of electronic timing and scoring systems used by dirt tracks and racing series across the country. While he was always around Sprint Cars, following his retirement from Sandia, Eloy became a full-time traveling Official with the World of Outlaws in 2007.