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Getting Up To Speed With…Briley Pompe

Getting Up To Speed With…Briley Pompe
By Ben Deatherage
If there is anyone worthy of the nickname the “Comeback Kid” it would surely go to Briley Pompe. However if you ask him he probably would prefer the nickname his family has called him for years, “Boogy Man”. Briley is remarkable young man and is no doubt one of the future stars of Willamette Speedway.

At fifteen years old he has managed to win eight Kage Kart championships at three tracks including Cottage Grove Speedway, Salem Indoor Speedway, and Willamette Speedway. In fact he has won a championship in every division he has competed in the Kart ranks. In 2013 Briley would finish seventh in points in the Sportsman division and earn the Rookie of the Year award at Willamette and would pick up five wins at Salem Indoor Speedway for the Winter Season of 2012/13.

Unfortunately life has thrown some curveballs his way too. He has experienced two strokes and has had to relearn how to walk and feed himself twice. The stroke was to his cerebellum which affects motor skills but his “never give up” attitude has seen an incredible recovery for the Philomath High School Freshman. Who would have imagined he would go from being hospitalized in the summer of 2012 to racing nearly the entire 2013 season.

Briley is the younger brother of Brody Pompe. In fact Brody calls Briley his hero and his inspiration to continue to race. Briley also has a loving mother and father in Danielle and Kevin Pompe who have been there for him his entire life. We got a chance to talk with Briley about his plans for 2014, how his health is doing, and what are some of his goals for the future are. Now let’s get up to speed with Briley Pompe.

Driver: Briley Pompe
Home Track: Willamette Speedway
Hometown: Philomath, Oregon
Occupation: Student at Philomath High School
Age: 15
Years Racing: 11

Classification: Sportsman/IMCA Modified
Team: Pompe Racing
Car: 0P
Chassis: Lawson Chassis/Dirt Works Race Cars
Special Thanks: Brody Pompe (Brother), Family, Friends

BD: Well Briley what are your plans for this season?
BP: Well I plan to just start off in the Sportsman class for my main car this summer. I might hit a Kart race or two this year and I will probably run the whole Summer Sizzle deal. If it all works out I might run my Modified at the end of the season.

I’ve got to give a big shout to my older brother Brody. He’s been back home from school in Ohio for a little bit and has been busting his backside to make sure I’m able to race. I appreciate all that he’s done for me.

BD: Watching your entire racing career you are #49 in Kage Karts but #0P in the big cars. Any particular reason you race those two numbers?
BP: When I started racing Karts I was four years old and Brody was nine so that’s why I chose #49. For the big cars it was Brody’s number just flipped around. One time when we were parked side by side and Brody was ahead, someone noticed that both our cars together spell “P00P”.

The cancer ribbon that is on my car this year is in honor of people in our life who we lost to cancer last year. My biggest fan, my Grandpa Ed, and a very close friend Dan McGarry. We miss them both very much and dedicate this season to them. It is also for one of our race moms, Tricia Duty, who beat cancer last year. Our family is so happy that she kicked cancers butt. We love our race Mom’s!

BD: How exactly did you get your start in racing?
BP: When I was younger I watched Brody race so I thought it would be cool so I gave it a shot. Before that I used to race a John Deere lawnmower around and use to run it around in the field. I was so little when I started that by the time the mains started I was napping in the Kart.

I’ve ran Karts pretty much my whole life. One of my most memorable races was in 2011 at Salem during the state fair. My brother and I got first and second with him getting first of course. But we raced each other hard and it was an exciting race.

Last year was the first year in the big cars. We missed a few of the first races because we got behind and realized how difficult it was to run a two car team and getting all the cars to the track.

BD: Something some fans may not know is you’ve had some tough battles health wise. How are thing looking in that department? You seem to be getting stronger by the day.
BP: Yeah, when I was twelve I had a damaged artery in my neck. It caused a clot which traveled to my brain and caused me to have a stroke. I had almost recovered from that and then in the summer of 2012, I had another one. I had to relearn how to walk, feed myself, write, and all of that again.

The doctors I had after the second stroke found a kids stroke specialist and her team of doctors in San Francisco who were able to fix the damaged artery by blocking it off completely with platinum coils. I have been doing great since, school is going good and the one thing they said I could do is race. I went down to San Francisco two weeks ago for some follow up imaging and the images looked all good and the doctors said they don’t want to see me for two years.

Everything is healed where my artery was damaged. They’re supportive of me racing because of all the protective gear but unfortunately I can’t do any contact sports like football or wrestling. As long as I can race, that’s all that matters. I would like to thank all of the people who supported me and my family as we were going through that. It was a rough time and those people made it a lot easier on us.

BD: Any chance you may follow your brother Brody’s footsteps and get into a Modified or are you happy where you are at right now?
BP: I really want to get in the Modifieds and if that all works out I want to go to the school that Brody is going to in Ohio (University of Northwestern Ohio). If I play my cards right I hope to land a ride with a good race team that just tells me to go race.

Willamette Speedway returns to action this Saturday April 26th for the second race of 2014. For more information log on to www.trophymotorsports.com.

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