Special from Speed51.com – Corbin, Kentucky’s Josh Brock was leading both the ARCA/CRA Super Series and JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour points standings in 2017 before he received news nobody wants to hear. He was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and was forced to step out of the driver’s seat to receive treatment.
On January 1, Brock was told he was cancer-free and was received clearance from his doctor to return to racing. He followed that exciting news with his first-career ARCA/CRA Super Series win at Anderson Speedway (IN) in May. And on Sunday afternoon, he completed his comeback season by winning the ARCA/CRA Super Series championship after finishing eighth in his first Winchester 400 attempt.
“I’m still at a loss for words,” Brock told Speed51.com. “It’s definitely set in already. With what happened to us last year having to quit early and fighting hard all through the winter to beat cancer, and to fight hard all year to win this championship. I’m just at a loss for words. We didn’t finish as high as we wanted to today but that wasn’t our game plan. We had to come here and race a completely different race.”
“You never know, especially with it being the Winchester 400. All I knew was that the other three was going to put up a hell of a fight, so all we could do was go as fast and as hard as we could.”
Brock’s championship triumph was celebrated with a burnout on the front stretch and hugs from his family and crew as he tried to hold back tears. For Brock and crew, it was the culmination of a moment he was unsure if he was going to experience.
“We just fought really super hard,” Brock said. “There were mornings when I was sick where I didn’t know looking in the mirror how long I was going to make it. And then this year I looked in the mirror and I didn’t know if I was going to be the champion. But in the morning, I will be a champion.”
As for the future, Brock plans on racing in the All-American 400 at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville and on the dirt over the winter before defending his ARCA/CRA Super Series championship in 2019. But for right now, he is a champion. And through the ups and downs, one quote from his win at Anderson describes everything leading up to his ARCA/CRA Super Series championship.
“The way I look at it, if I can beat cancer, none of these guys are going to beat me.”
-Story by Koty Geyer, Speed51.com State Editor (IN & MI)
-Photo credit: Speed51.com / MoJo Photos