Connecticut resident Torsten Gross is currently a race car driver, rescue scuba diver, and has competed in multiple marathons. His personality jumps off the screen during our Zoom interview, his enthusiasm evident.
“I scuba dive. I did 12 marathons in 12 months. I skydive. I do anything that that challenges my life insurance policy,” Gross says, smiling widely.
Gross is someone one might describe as “full of life.” Considering Gross was clinically dead for a full two and a half minutes after the diving accident that paralyzed him, that’s quite a statement. Only 15 when he dove into the water and emerged a C6 quadriplegic, Gross is now 46 and continues to find ways to push his physical and mental limits.
Although he uses a wheelchair to get around on a daily basis, Gross isn’t letting anything stop him; that includes racing cars at high speeds. And while Gross has only been racing cars for a a few years (uses hand controls instead of the typical foot pedals), he has become a fixture running laps around Lime Rock Park, the historic race track 10 minutes from his house.
His passion for racing caught the attention of Amazon, which sent a film crew to capture his path for a new series on Prime called Just Hands: For the Love of Racing. With the full support of automotive industry giant Pennzoil, Gross is telling his story to inspire others to push their own limits.
Torsten Gross And His Journey To COTA
The Just Hands: For the Love of Racing documentary follows Gross for three years as he pursues GT competitive racing. Starting with episode 1, Gross is behind the wheel of his adapted Porsche, taking on the legendary track at Watkins Glen. Episode 2 features wheel-to-wheel action at the IGT championship at Virginia International Raceway. In Florida, Gross tackles 24 Hours at Daytona in episode 3. And finally, Austin’s Circuit of the Americas is the ultimate test for his journey.
Constant filming might be intrusive to some, but not to this adventurer.
“My only goal is to get more people in chairs behind the wheel of track cars because of how freeing it is,” Gross says.
What Gross wants to convey is that his story has nothing to do with being an adaptive driver, and everything to do with coming up with creative approaches to life. Specifically, in this case, in motor sports. His route is also unique in that he didn’t train in go-karts as a kid the way many race car drivers do. He is not a multimillionaire with big bucks to funnel into his passion. And, of course, that he started racing later in life. Gross built this road piece by piece on the way up.
‘It would be criminal if you stop racing’
Now 46, Gross has an extraordinarily understanding wife who doesn’t just support him and his need to try new and heart-pounding things, she encourages him to keep going.
“We’re very supportive of each other, because we understand that life is short,” Gross says. “It’s meant to be lived, not to be wondered about.”
That outlook was put to the test recently when her husband broke his femur and punctured his lung in a crash at the track.
“I do a lot of crazy stuff, unfortunately for her,” Gross says. “We were in the emergency room and I told her I’d stop racing. But she actually stopped me and said something to the extent of ‘Look, you’re on an adrenaline high right now. You’re not thinking straight; you’re in an emergency room. Let’s talk about this later.’”
Later, Gross’s wife told him she thought it would be a shame for him to stop racing cars.
“She said, ‘You’re good at it and you love it,’” Gross remembers. “She said it would be criminal if I didn’t continue doing it.”
As Gross was being transported to the hospital, he insisted the cameras stay on all the way up to the point he got to the operating room. He wanted this part of his journey to be documented and real.
Pennzoil Steps In To Support Torsten Gross And Just Hands
Gross is effusive in his praise of the way Pennzoil has not only championed this project, but the way the company gives him a chance to be himself on screen.
“When we first started talking, I told them ‘There’s a difference between using a guy in a wheelchair that’s a race car driver versus a race car driver that happens to be in a wheelchair,’” Gross recalls. “They get it. Pennzoil has always treated me that way, and that to me, that means a lot.”
For Torsten Gross, this is just the start. Stay tuned to find out what he’ll try next.