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Getting Up To Speed With…Brody Pompe

Getting Up To Speed With…Brody Pompe
By Ben Deatherage
(Photo Courtesy of Doc's Photos)
Brody Pompe is one of the most successful drivers to come out of the Willamette Speedway Kage Kart program. In the last few years he has competed in the Modified ranks and won a handful of races. Now he’s looking to turn that handful of wins into several in the coming seasons as he pursues an education at the University of Northwestern Ohio, located in the city of Lima.

Since his arrival last fall to the Buckeye state the Philomath native has learned a great wealth of knowledge of the sport he loves and has been taking courses specifically working on race cars. There’s no doubt by the time he is done with all his schooling he will be a force to reckon with at any dirt track.

Spending the majority of his fifteen year racing career in the Kage Kart ranks the nineteen-year-old teenager won four championships two of which came at Willamette and the other two were achieved at the Cottage Grove Speedway. In addition to his triumphs in Karts he would win Rookie of the Year honors at Willamette in the Sportsman division while also finishing runner-up in the final point standings that same season. Incredibly this young man has won over one-hundred-thirty main events in his entire career. Brody took time out of his busy schedule to do a special interview with us right before him and his friends were going to watch the NASCAR Whelen Modifieds at Florida’s Daytona International Speedway for the annual “Battle At The Beach”. Now let’s get up to speed with Brody Pompe.

Driver: Brody Pompe
Home Track: Willamette Speedway
Hometown: Lima, Ohio
Occupation: Student at University of Northwestern Ohio
Age: 19
Years Racing: 15

Classification: Modified
Team: Pompe Racing
Car: P0
Chassis: X-Factor Race Cars
Sponsors: X-Factor Race Cars, Gray’s Racing Engines
Special Thanks: Danielle and Kevin Pompe (Mother and Father), Donna and Ed Pompe (Grandparents), Dotty and Ed Anderson (Grandparents), Briley Pompe (Brother)

BD: Well over the offseason you’ve made a huge step in a big direction by enrolling in the University of Northwestern Ohio (UNOH). What made you make that decision and what does that mean for you in 2014?
BP: Well I was at home in Oregon just doing general education stuff at Linn-Benton Community College. I ran into Cory Penfold one day and he got me thinking about UNOH. I talked with my parents about it for a while and decided to go for it. I’m hoping it will give me the opportunity to race at the highest level possible. So far everything’s going good and I’m learning a lot. It’s cool going to school with other race car drivers whereas back home I was the only race car driver in my class. Being on their race team is cool they have five Modifieds and four Stock Cars. I do work on them for four hours in the morning and then I go to class to learn even more about them.

Later this year I’ll be coming home and taking my car out east to run some UMP Modified races here in Ohio. But if somebody gave me the call to drive their car for a few races this summer in Oregon I’d take that chance in a heartbeat. But ultimately my goal this season is to race Eldora once this year I’ve always wanted to run there and it’s only one hour away from my school.

BD: You’ve spent the last few years in the Modified division and got a couple of wins. It truly is a difficult class to win in.
BP: They’re some tough competition. I remember when I ran the Street Stocks I would always watch Jesse Williamson race. He’s such an amazing driver and I really look up to him.

He really helped me out with some ignition problems when we ran the Wild Wild West Modified Shootout tour at Yreka in California last year. He lent me a MSD box for me to use for the night and if he hadn’t of done that we wouldn’t have been able to race. That tour was so cool because I learned more stuff in those seven days then I had in racing three years racing in the bigger cars.

BD: Now some people may think you started your career in the Street Stocks but in truth it goes all the way back to Karts.
BP: Correct. My dad bought me a flat kart when I was about four or five. The first time I drove it I was in the backyard and slid through the yard and did some doughnuts and once I got going did really well. They took me to some races with that kart but when I was at a race in Washington I almost flipped so my family got a Kage Kart when I was seven.

I ran that regularly until I was sixteen and I still race them every now and then. I raced with Kyle Miller and Patrick Dills a lot and all three of us put on some good shows. They’re hands down my favorite type of car to drive.

A funny story about my family and racing is my dad was going to race but before he could get the chance to my mom found out she was pregnant with me. So Briley and I are first generation drivers for our family.

BD: Now in Karts you were always #27 but when you moved up it changed to #P0. Do either of those numbers have a special meaning to you?
BP: Well when I first got my Kage Kart my little brother Briley was two years old and I was seven years old so we made my number #27. I still run that same wing I’ve had for ten years and if it gets dinted I just straighten it back out. When we moved up to the Street Stocks the #27 was taken and we just duct taped the #0 on the car for the year because we didn’t have enough money for vinyl at the time. But as time went by the number just stuck.

BD: I remember in the summer of 2012 you were in a major traffic accident and it seemed like that was the end of your career. But you came back to win the last Modified point race of the year in September. That had to be a very emotional moment.
BP: It was super emotional. My little brother had just had a stroke and the day he got out of the hospital I got off work early to go see him and my brakes went out on my car. I couldn’t go anywhere and hit the back of a boat on a trailer. I swerved at the last second and the boat motor went completely through the passenger seat. If I hadn’t of swerved it would of taken my head off.

I was in the hospital for about five days. I wasn’t allowed to do anything for a while but I raced two weeks later. Even though I really didn’t tell anyone I still had a broken nose and it really hurt when I would throw the car going into the corner.

I remember in that race I won I had an awesome battle with Kyle Yeack and Jeremy Shank. In the last laps I was barely holding on and I figured that me and brother had been through a lot lately and I could hold on for a little bit longer. It is by far my biggest and most emotional win. I have a picture of my little brother and me in victory lane from that night and it’s really inspirational. Briley is my hero and he’s my inspiration.

The 2014 season is quickly approaching and Willamette Speedway is the place to get your racing fix. Saturday April 5th will kick things off with the test and tune open practice while the “Cabin Fever Season Opener” will be held the following Saturday on the 12th. Be sure and log on to http://www.trophymotorsports.com for the latest information regarding Willamette Speedway.

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