A Racing Heart

Mazda racer and former heart patient Bryce Cornet to speak at Bell County Heart Ball

Mar 30, 2023

Bryce Cornet holds on to a thin lead in a recent Mazda MX-5 Series auto race. Bryce suffered from heart issues as a child and had fully recovered. He will be the featured speaker at the April 2 Heart Ball at the Mayborn Convention Center. Courtesy photo by Trevor Lee

DAVID STONE | OUR TOWN TEMPLE

Bryce Cornet was a champion go-kart racer as a kid in Oklahoma. He was gearing up to make the transition from kart to car as he approached 16 years old, but a fainting spell in geometry class threw a wrench into those racing plans.

“I started racing when I was 6,” he said late Thursday afternoon. “I was winning — I had planned on racing paying for my education. But when I was 15, I started having severe heart palpitations, dizziness and heavy sweating during a high school math class. An electrocardiogram showed that I had Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.”

In other words, Bryce had an extra electrical pathway between the upper and lower chambers of his heart that was causing a rapid heart beat. He underwent two catheter ablations that destroyed the extra pathway and resolved the heart issue.
“As a race car driver, I undergo physicals every year to maintain my racing license,” he said. “Knock on wood, but I think this is behind me thanks to wonderful doctors and amazing technology at the Oklahoma hospital where I was treated.”

Bryce will tell his story on April 22 at the Heart Ball at the Mayborn Convention Center in Temple. The ball begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $250 each and can be purchased at https://event.gives/bellcountyheartball.

At the Bell County Heart Ball, Bryce Cornet will speak about how the American Heart Association has helped him with his recovery and how he has become an ambassador for the organization.

“I’m excited to be part of the Bell County Heart Ball and to share my story of survival and heart health,” Cornet said. “I believe that by raising awareness of heart health and the importance of taking action to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, we can save lives.”

The Bell County Heart Ball is an annual event dedicated to raising awareness of heart health and raising funds for the American Heart Association.

Lyndie Miller, development director for the American Heart Association-Waco/Temple/Killeen, said she is expecting between 350 and 400 guests. She hopes to raise upward of $200,000.

The Heart Ball marks a moment in time to reflect, honor and celebrate the progress made through the determination, dedication and passion of all who support the Heart of Bell County.

Cornet still gets his heart racing, but in a totally different way than the episode as a teenager. And, he has graduated from kart to Mazda racers.

“I’m competing in the MX-5 series, which is owned and sponsored by Mazda,” he said. “The cars are the same — similar to the old Mazda Miata — and they are very stock except for the high-performance transmissions, a roll cage and some body-style modifications.”

“The racing is fun to watch, and there are plenty of exceptional drivers,” he said. “It’s wide open — no one wins by a huge margin because the cars are essentially the same.”

“I was really progressing in the race game when the heart incident occurred,” he said. “My dream was side-tracked and wasn’t feeling well. It was hard to get back into racing, but I stuck with it.”

“After go-karts, I did some Formula racing, and I was a national champion in 2018,” he said. “I feel like I’m fully cured. My heart still races, but only when I get behind the wheel of a race car. I’m a healthy, happy dude.”