Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Pro Stock champ has scare on plane

Thursday, Oct. 31, 2002 | 10:01 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at bh@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4089.

Darrell Alderman suffered a health scare on his flight home from last weekend's ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals but the three-time Pro Stock champion said he expects to race in the season finale at Pomona next week.

Alderman told NHRA.com that he was sleeping during the flight when his travel partners noticed he had stopped breathing. They performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on the 52-year-old driver and he started breathing on his own, but Alderman complained of weakness and chest pains. Two nurses who happened to be on the plane began treating him as a potential heart-attack victim.

The flight made an emergency landing in Cincinnati, where a team of trauma and heart specialists was standing by. Alderman was rushed to a nearby hospital where he underwent a battery of tests.

Doctors at St. Luke's Hospital West eventually ruled out a heart attack and told Alderman that he had most likely suffers from sleep apnea, a potentially life-threatening condition that is characterized by brief interruptions of breathing during sleep.

"Apparently, I have plenty of symptoms of sleep apnea," Alderman told NHRA.com. "The doctors told me that many times severe sleep apnea causes one side of your heart to stop, which is what they figured happened on the plane. It's still scary but it's a big relief it's not a heart problem."

Alderman said doctors cleared him to race next week and that he plans to see a sleep apnea specialist near his home in Morehead, Kent.

The Division 7 event is expected to attract more than 900 cars and bikes competing in Top Alcohol Dragster, Top Alcohol Funny Car, Comp Eliminator, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street, Motorcycle and Super Eliminator categories. This year's event also will feature the NHRA Top Comp World Finals.

The Pomona NHRA Lucas Oil Series event drew nearly 800 cars and motorcycles in August but was unable to finish due to a strict local noise curfew. NHRA officials moved the remaining portion of Pomona's event to Las Vegas.

The 10-race, $1.4 million series, which will be televised on ESPN2, will feature competition in five classes: Pro Rear-Wheel Drive, Pro Front-Wheel Drive, Hot Rod, Modified and All-Motor.