News 12 Long Island highlights the story of race care driver Dave Hutchings. After four decades of racing cars, Hutchings was faced with a difficult decision – either have surgery to correct a lifelong foot issue or risk being sidelined from the sport he loves. His flatfoot issue worsened over time, making it hard to drive a car – let alone a race car.

"With this problem, the heel kind of goes out to the side and foot collapses down," said Elizabeth A. Cody, MD, foot and ankle surgeon at HSS. Hutchings explained that high-speed driving and intense pain do not mix on a racetrack."There's a technique we call heal and toe. You put the ball of your foot on the brake pedal, and you roll your foot to touch the gas pedal to raise the revs to match when we downshift and I actually go to do it and my foot won't move," he said.

Dr. Cody proposed that Hutchings have reconstruction surgery."His deformity was so bad, I had to fuse some of the bones together. It's such a big surgery, it's totally changing the shape of the foot and the primary goal of this surgery is to get you walking and standing pain free again, but I can't promise that you'll go back to racing cars," she said.

Watch the full segment at longisland.news12.com.