The next phase of Eliason’s life began with a bit of a ruse.
“This sounds bad,” he said with a laugh, “but when I got the job at Driven, I told them I could weld. Now, I definitely couldn‘t, but I had the drive to learn.”
Showing good common sense, along with a dash of moxie, he soon attached himself to an employee who began showing him the ropes.
“It wasn‘t welding stuff right away, and I wasn‘t taking people‘s jobs, but I was learning to tack. I started tacking nerf bars, stuff that didn‘t matter so much if it broke. But the good thing is nothing I welded broke.”
As Eliason progressed, welding and fabricating became much more than just a job.
“I have a passion for welding and fabricating,” he said, “because it is an art and craft. I just like to keep up and build things. I do little things here and there. I have some machines for my own fab shop and I am going to start building a lot more parts for race cars, or whatever.”
Eliason still has his hand in the day-to-day operations of Driven Performance, although time on the road has made it more of a challenge.
“I still have a lot of involvement and investment in the whole micro scene,” he noted, “because I have a lot of passion for it. Jake (Hagopian) calls me and leans on me when he wants to change things, and considers what he wants to do. I still help with fabricating, and there may be a time when I am even more involved. They are going to expand, and I am going to be right along with them.”
Just as his welding skills developed and he graduated to more challenging projects, Eliason began taking steps to make his name in sprint car racing.
He found it wasn‘t going to be an overnight process.
There were intermittent rides to be had along the way. Owner Mike Dodd gave him a chance or two at Placerville, and when paired with Allan Bradway he posted several good results.
Nonetheless, for the most part he was on his own.
It wasn‘t an easy chore. Like anyplace else where sprint car racing has found a home, in California the sport has been passed down generation to generation.
The prime time performers have been venturing to the same race tracks for years and, by reputation alone, they tend to land the best rides.
It can be a lonely world for a privateer giving it all they‘ve got.
He wasn‘t born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Eliason did it his way for seven long seasons and in that period he estimates that he was able to race no more than 100 times.
In practice, it meant scavenging bent parts and taking the time to straighten them out just to have spares. It took resourcefulness and ingenuity just to get to the race track. There wasn‘t a fresh roller or engine in the trailer should misfortune find him. The truth is, there was every reason in the world for him to pack it in, except for one. That‘s not how he rolls.
The record shows that he did more than just hold his own while competing in both 360 and 410 action. When he began to consistently run up front, others began to take notice. Eliason had chatted with owner Harley Van Dyke at a World of Outlaws race at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, and before long they came to terms.
It was arguably the biggest break in Cory‘s career. The duo headed north to compete in the Oregon Speedweek in the 360 and after a couple of wins and several podium runs, Van Dyke endeavored to take his newly hired gun to the Midwest.
The ultimate destination was Knoxville Raceway, and as he headed east, Eliason was brimming with confidence after posting back-to-back King of the West Series wins at Keller Auto Speedway and Stockton.
Then, six days later he was in the infield at Knoxville, Iowa, doing his best to soak it all in.
It was memorable to say the least.
“We went to Knoxville and I had no idea what I was doing on a half-mile because before that I had only run the half-mile once in my own car. I was supposed to run a 360, but we ended up running a 410. I didn‘t have much 410 knowledge or experience, at best a total of 10 to 15 races.”
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