Away from Hospital, Brandon McMullen is Champion Sprint Car Driver
You can definitely say Brandon McMullen drives in the fast lane. McMullen, a physical therapist at ThedaCare Medical Center-Berlin, can often be found on weekends going around a race track in his 1,600-pound sprint car traveling up to 100 miles per hour. Based at the Plymouth Dirt Track, he is the two-time defending Midwest Sprint Car Association champion and the third generation of his family involved in racing, with his grandfather, father and brother all helping him now in the pits.
“While the thrill of the speed and competition is exhilarating, the thing I enjoy most is being able to spend time with my family. I’m lucky to still have my family either help in the pits or watch from the stands each night,” he said.
At the mid-season point, McMullen, leads in points for both the weekly races at the Plymouth track and the traveling Midwest circuit.
McMullen’s patients know about his fast-paced hobby and often ask how he did in recent races. “It is pretty neat that I can work in an area so far from my home race track that my patients care” about his results, he said. “In fact, several patients have seen me race.”
After getting injured as a high school athlete, McMullen became interested in physical therapy as a career path. “Going through the recovery process made me realize that I wanted to be a part of helping people get better after an injury or surgery,” he said. “It is impossible to help everybody, but for the majority that do improve, it is very rewarding to hear how they feel better and are grateful they came to physical therapy.”
McMullen attended the University of Wisconsin where he earned a doctorate in physical therapy and started at ThedaCare Medical Center-Berlin in May 2016. He primarily works at the outpatient clinic, but may also see hospitalized patients and Juliette Manor residents.
This is the eighth year McMullen is behind the wheel for McMullen Racing Enterprises and he enjoys every minute of it.
“Balancing racing and work can be difficult as healthcare never stops,” he said. “Occasionally, I have to work a weekend covering the hospital and when that happens I rely greatly on our team to have the car ready and at the track if I am running late.”
For more than 100 years, ThedaCare™ has been committed to finding a better way to deliver serious and complex healthcare to patients throughout Northeast Wisconsin. The organization serves over 200,000 patients annually and employs more than 6,800 healthcare professionals throughout the region. ThedaCare has seven hospitals located in Appleton, Neenah, Berlin, Waupaca, Shawano, New London and Wild Rose as well as 32 clinics in nine counties. ThedaCare is the first in Wisconsin to be a Mayo Clinic Care Network Member, giving our specialists the ability to consult with Mayo Clinic experts on a patient’s care. ThedaCare is a non-profit healthcare organization with a level II trauma center, comprehensive cancer treatment, stroke and cardiac programs as well as a foundation dedicated to community service. For more information, visit www.thedacare.org or follow ThedaCare on Facebook and Twitter.
