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Eric Hardin has always moved fast.  Growing up with a family with a passion for fast-paced recreation, Hardin spent his summers jet-skiing and his winters riding motorcycles through the desert hills of Orange County.  His interest in cars was sparked at an early age as well.  “I was raised in the shop, learning about cars and it was always something I loved,” says Hardin.

Unfortunately, at 12, Hardin was diagnosed with a cancer that started in his lungs, spread to his bones, and came close to taking his life. Hardin endured months of chemotherapy, rendering him bedridden and weak.  Doctors told his parents that there was a 70 percent chance that he wasn’t going to make it past thirteen, but they kept the grim prognosis to themselves.

“Looking back, it was probably a good thing that no one told me any odds,” Hardin says.  “I am just lucky that my body responded well to the chemotherapy because there are a lot of people who are less fortunate.”

However, Hardin didn’t make it past the cancer unscathed.  In order to save his life, doctors were forced to amputate his right leg.  For Hardin, it was a “small price to pay” to get healthy again.

After he healed, Hardin quickly reignited his passion for motor sports.  The 13-year-old resumed riding dirt bikes, but the day before his final surgery, he came up short on a jump and broke his femur and his prosthetic leg.

Instead of shying away from motor sports after the accident, Hardin simply changed venues. He convinced his parents that off-road racing was a much safer alternative to motorcycles, and eventually they agreed to finance his desert-racing team.  In 1999, six races into his career, Hardin won the Fireworks 250 in Barstow, California.  He would go onto finish first at the Henderson 250, Primm 300, and the Baja 500 that season.

From there, Hardin moved on to the NASCAR Super Trucks Series, where he quickly starting racking up top-ten finishes.  Once again, his sixth start led him to victory, as he captured the main event at the Irwindale Speedway in 2004.  The same year, Hardin won the Super Trucks Rookie of the Year award.  The next year he began racing in the NASCAR Camping World Series West, where he competes today.

Hardin currently drives the Direct Shopping Network #5 Chevy Monte Carlo, which has undergone a few modifications for his prosthetic.  He had a strap installed in the car to keep his foot on the throttle and give him a better feel for the pedal.  According to Hardin, many of the other drivers initially underestimated him because of his prosthetic.  However, once he began to make his mark in the series, he started to command more respect.  “Once we started running up front, and beating them, then it wasn’t an issue,” he says.

Last year, Hardin finished seventh in the points standing for the Camping World Series West, and on Saturday March 29, he kicked off the season at Roseville, CA, with a seventh place finish.  The 25-year -old hopes that this season will be the one that launches his career, and aspires to one day reach the nation-wide Nextel Cup Series.  His story has also attracted the attention of many prospective sponsors, although according to manager Ryan Wood, the team is still looking for more partners “We have a great story that we can sell, beating the odds, and pushing for your dream, it’s something that just appeals to the general public,” says Wood.

 For information on sponsoring Team Hardin, contact Ryan Wood at rwood@hardin.com