As Cory spent more time racing in the Midwest and beyond, he discovered how different the tracks were and, consequently, how he had to alter his driving style.
“Calistoga is big,” he said. “Don‘t get me wrong, but it is kind of like Williams Grove. There you can screw up in the corner, but as long as you are pointed straight you can get going again. When I went to Eldora, Knoxville, Port Royal, and Jackson before they shortened it, it was definitely different.
“Everything is big out there, even the small tracks have a lot of flow, and you have to make everything flow as a driver, whereas in California there is no such thing, it is all erratic driving. You throw it in there, hit the curb, bounce off it, get straight, and go again.”
If Cory was intimidated the first time he took to the track at Knoxville, he hardly showed it. In a mid-July race won by Craig Dollansky, Eliason checked in with a credible seventh-place finish and picked up the hard charger award.
He came back to the Marion County Fairgrounds and made the show for the 360 Nationals, but his first bid to make the field at the Knoxville Nationals stalled out in the C-main.
In all, it was a satisfying year and he looked forward to the 2017 campaign with renewed relish. He raced a 360 for Rod Tiner in the Sprint Car Challenge Tour and got out of the gate in a hurry.
Hungry to get more 410 experience, he seized on an opportunity to race for owner Larry Antaya. It was a rock-solid operation, with Brian Matherly serving as crew chief assisted by Matt “Skippy” Britt, and Tim Werbach on hand as team manager.
Racing with the King of the West Series, Eliason ultimately finished third in the final standings behind Bud Kaeding and Gio Scelzi.
Perhaps even more satisfying than the victories he enjoyed during this breakout season, was what he accomplished in the heart of America in the dog days of summer.
Once again Harley Van Dyke was hungry to return to Knoxville and, naturally, Eliason was more than willing to join him.
This time he was far more prepared to take on the Nationals, but in the end he had to dig deep to pull off one of the most significant and meaningful results in his career to that point.
Replaying all that transpired, Eliason recalled, “When we went to Knoxville the second time, it was the roughest weekend I ever went through in my life. That Thursday night, or Friday morning, Harley got a call that his daughter was involved in a car accident and had passed away. It was just me and another kid named Fez (Stephen McLeod), who was the crew guy. I told Harley I could stay, and somehow we would figure it out.
“Harley was getting ready to leave for the airport and he said he was leaving us four checks and that he wanted us to stay and just make the show. Luckily, Rod Tiner was there and I told him I had no idea what I am doing here and I needed help to figure this out. So he helped us. We ran the Friday night program and managed to make it in. There was nothing better for Harley at that time than to hear that his car was in the show.”
It was impressive enough to crack the starting grid at the Knoxville Nationals, but what Eliason had pulled off in an emotionally-charged time was particularly noteworthy.
How he finished in Saturday night‘s finale mattered little; he had done his part to bring a little joy to his devastated car owner.
Eliason had now reached the point in his career where he was offered rides by high-profile owners from his region. More importantly, men like Rod Tiner and Brian Matherly not only provided wise counsel at the race track, but they were also in a prime position to offer career advice.
Cutting to the basics, the message was clear: if Eliason truly wanted to be a professional racer, it was time to hit the road.
This story will be continued in Cory Eliason: Rising Tide, Part II.