The days, weeks and months spent out of the race car was agonizing at times.
“When you’re down and out, there’s really not much to look forward to other than more treatments,” Brock said.
At the same time, racing is what helped him stay focused on his treatments, which were once a month. He had something to look forward to. It still didn’t make it easy.
“I was scared and mad at the same time,” Brock said.
When asked what his initial reaction and thought was when the doctor told him he had cancer, he said, “Really nothing. I was numb. I don’t think I fully understood exactly what was going on. I knew what was going on. Hell, I left (the doctor’s office) kind of calm and just like we’re going to beat this. I was kind of numb. You don’t know what to think.”
He has a racing simulator so that was one way he passed the time as often as he could. He also worked at the construction shop, the race shop with the crew or at the farm.
“It was just bad times in life; you don’t know what to do,” Brock said.
But he did know what to do.
“You can’t give up,” he said. “You can’t lay there and do nothing. You’ve got to fight.”
For about one or two months, he couldn’t eat much because he felt nauseous so often. His first sign he was getting better was the moment he had “the best damn dinner I ever had.”
It was a plate of lasagna.
“It was good,” Brock said with a smile.
Knowing he was improving, he couldn’t wait anymore. He snuck off and did a couple dirt-track races.
“I had to get out and do something,” Brock said.
About six months after his diagnosis, Brock was cancer free. Once clear of cancer, Brock quickly put his effort into returning to full-time racing. He did so with the ARCA/CRA Super Series.
The date of May 6, 2018, and the location of Anderson Speedway in Indiana will forever hold a special place in Brock’s heart. It was on that date at that track where Brock not only won his first super late model race, but more importantly, it was his first win after his return to racing from cancer.
“At first it was so … I couldn’t believe it,” Brock said when asked what the emotions were like to win. “We were coming to the last lap. I didn’t have any emotions until it was completely over and it finally hits you. … Days later, you start thinking all the things that you’ve done and fought for.
“I think I was on an emotional high for a month it seemed like.”
Who could blame him?
So far in 2019, Brock is once again out front in the ARCA/CRA Super Series standings, holding a 93-point lead over Hunter Jack, and has one victory on the season – May 5 at Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville, Tenn. Brock led all 100 laps of that race.
“We all fought so hard (to beat cancer) and it finally paid off,” Brock said.