Self-awareness has served Cory Clay well.
The Morgantown resident and 2015 Indian Creek graduate grew up around racetracks, watching his father work on sprint cars and dreaming of one day being a driver himself.
Alas, there are only so many who can manage to make racing a full-time career. Clay saw the writing on the wall at a relatively early age and planned accordingly.
"I said, well, if I can’t do that, I want to make a living doing something that can make me enough money to race on the weekends and then benefit me doing that," he said. "So I thought mechanical engineering was a good way to go."
His choices have worked out well, both on and off the track.
Clay earned an associate degree in mechanical engineering from Ivy Tech; he is currently taking classes at Purdue Polytechnic Institute in Columbus in an effort to earn his bachelor’s degree while also working as a shop supervisor for the MYR Group, an electrical construction company, out of their facility in Bargersville.
In his spare time, he drives a three-quarter midget car — and does so quite well. Last year, Clay won the UMRA King of the TQ Midgets series championship, racking up 770 points to narrowly edge out Joey Paxson and 2018 champ Matthew Hedrick.
Clay won four features (Thunder Valley, Jennings County, Rush County and Twin Cities) and was remarkably consistent — he only finished outside of the top 10 in two of his 19 starts.
He even caught himself a bit off guard with how well he fared.
"It did surprise me that we had so much success," Clay said, "because at the beginning of the year last year, the guys that I’m racing for, I didn’t know them very well, so I was still trying to get used to it.
"It still hasn’t really set in how we did it."
Clay will be trying to defend his points title this season under a new banner. Tony Stewart recently announced that he is purchasing the UMRA circuit, which will now be known as the All Star Circuit of Champions TQ Midgets. The 2020 schedule opens April 4 with a race at Brownstown Speedway.
In addition to getting a new car ready for the spring and keeping busy with his day job and his college courses, Clay tries to keep his driving skills sharp by practicing regularly on iRacing, an online simulator that allows him to compete on virtual tracks against drivers from all over the world — everyone from beginners to NASCAR stars such as Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell.
"The more laps you have, the better off you’re going to be, and (iRacing) bridges that gap," Clay said. "If you’re only running 15, 16 races a year but you’re doing that in the evening times, practicing, it keeps your mind fresh and keeps your reaction time."
Clay has also built an advantage in having his older brother, Brandon, working as the mechanic on his car. The close connection between the two seems to translate well on race days.
"If my brother comes to the racetrack with me, and he’s there to help, I always end up doing better," Cory said.
"Not only because I feel more comfortable with him turning the wrenches on the car, because that’s what I’m used to, but he also knows my driving style, and he knows the adjustments to make to help me move forward."
As he continues to move forward in racing, Clay says he would like to one day be able to race regionally in full-size midgets and full-size sprint cars.
He’s not harboring grand visions of grandeur — with a blossoming career in engineering, he’s content with being what he terms a "weekend warrior" on the racetrack. But he plans to keep with his side hustle for as long as he can.
"It’d be hard for me to make a career of it," Clay said. "I’m a realist and I can kind of realize that, but the main reason I do it is for fun, and it’s the most fun I’ve ever had.
"It gets in your blood, it’s hard to get out."
