"Tim's accident was an eye-opener for me," Fuller said. "I just jumped into different cars maybe that weren't real safe. I just jumped into things to race because I'm a race junkie. Then I started rethinking it: 'Maybe I should just concentrate on my cars and what I'm doing instead of getting in this and that and taking chances of getting hurt and screwing my life up.'"

John Bickford, stepfather of NASCAR star Jeff Gordon and the architect of Gordon's early racing career, said some young drivers under the age of 18 get themselves legally emancipated from their parents so they can try to make a name for themselves on the dirt tracks. But they don't consider the risk.

"It can impact your insurance if you're not careful," Bickford said. "Kids who get themselves emancipated have to really be paying attention to that because they could find themselves being 16 years old, treated like an adult, and they think they have health insurance when in reality they don't" because they are no longer covered under their parents' policy.

Bickford agreed that the mindset of a racer plays a large factor.

"I used to tell people that at many of the racetracks you could put a sign up at the sign-in window that says, 'We do not have any insurance. If you are injured, we will not be able to help you. So if you still want to race, sign here,' and nobody would pay attention to the sign," Bickford said.

Mark Richards watched his 21-year-old son, Josh, an up-and-coming late model driver, compete in the Chili Bowl for the family racing team.

McCreadie's crash caught them off-guard and made Mark Richards review his insurance. Richards, who has been involved in the sport for more than three decades, thought his company policy covered his son. It didn't. It does now.

"It's just amazing to me that as many drivers as there are out there that drive these cars and don't understand that they're not insured," Mark Richards said. "Racers at this level should realize that, 'Hey, you're gambling with something that could put you in financial ruins.'"

The 35-year-old McCreadie has been a successful racer most of his adult life, following in the footsteps of his famous dad, "Barefoot" Bob McCreadie, one of the best dirt drivers in history with more than 500 victories.

Bob McCreadie raced more than once with a broken back, sometimes spending a night in a hospital and taking painkillers so he could get to the next track.

Tim McCreadie bought insurance when he briefly drove for Richard Childress Racing in NASCAR's Nationwide Series. But when RCR let him go, McCreadie let the policy lapse. That's when he got hurt.

"I had to switch a lot of things around. It was just like getting a new job," he said. "I didn't have it, and I got hurt in between. ... It was partly me being stubborn. I was just worried about racing."

Tim McCreadie knows he's fortunate — healthwise and financially — to be able to race again.

"The doctor said the bone break where I broke it is one of the ones you don't want. It causes a lot of paralysis," said McCreadie, who did not need surgery. "He said I'm really lucky."

Now, after months of rehab and a few fundraisers to help pay his medical bills, Tim McCreadie is back racing — he competed late last month for the first time since the accident and he's insured again.