January's Young Racer's Club winner comes to us from Macon, GA with a very inspirational story. Cory Compton races a "sportsman" class late-model at his home tracks of Cochran Motor Speedway and Swainsboro Raceway in the Peach State. Like most young racers, Cory started in go-karts and won many trophies before progressing to full-sized pure stock division. Cory and his father spent a year building his #21 pure stock in anticipation for his 16th birthday and his first full year behind the wheel of a "real" racecar.
But something was wrong, terribly wrong. Just a few days after his 16th birthday, Cory was diagnosed with T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and told that the pure stock would have to wait; he had another race to run. Cory lives and breathes racing so his parents kept him around the racetrack as much as possible. It kept him going and feeling "normal." Despite the ravaging effects of chemotherapy, multiple hospital stays and the battle with the cancer, Cory still managed to astonish his fellow racers by competing in nine events that year.
It was a prelude of what was to come. In 2005, he returned to the track with a vengeance and captured second place in the Division Points Championship and was awarded "2005 Rookie of the Year." The following year saw Cory's first career win come on November 12, 2006 (his brother/car chief Kyle's 15th birthday). The winning continued into this season where he has collected three wins and finished in the top three in 13 out of the last 15 races.
To this day, Cory is still receiving chemotherapy but is in remission after the four year battle. He graduated this past May from Jones County High School and began college in October at Central Georgia Technical College. Once his condition is in the clear in a few years, Cory plans to head north to the NASCAR Technical Institute College in North Carolina.
Cory's story is truly inspirational and while we know that the $250 gift certificate from Day Motor Sports will be well appreciated by the Compton Family, Cory's successful battle against the toughest competitor of all proves beyond a doubt that he has the heart and courage of a true racer.