Can-Am off-road racer
With 16 UTV championships and more race wins in the Can-Am Maverick X3 than some are lucky to see in a lifetime, Corry Weller is exactly the kind of ambassador every aspiring maverick needs: a proven leader.
RACING ACCOMPLISHMENT
14 Time UTV Champion
When Friday hits and people are busy making weekend plans, you’ll likely find Corry Weller deep in preparations for her next race. Or already on the road with her entire team—herself, husband Jason Weller, and dog Tucker. Small team, huge results: winning her third consecutive LOORRS Production Turbo UTV Championship in 2020, they must be doing something right! We spoke to Corry after her record-breaking season about how she got started in racing, what her family thinks about her career…and if she gets any weekends to actually relax.
CAN-AM: WHAT MADE YOU EVEN WANT TO GET STARTED IN RACING?
“I was a super late bloomer. My parents never did any type of racing. I never had anything motorized or cool or fun growing up, other than my 10-speed bicycle. I actually got into racing on a whim when I was about 29, and I had two kids, and I was in a difficult marriage, so I think I was looking for an outlet.
“We would watch Supercross a lot and one time watching Supercross I'm like—“Hey, I'm going to try racing. It looks like fun!”
“And just didn't know where to start, so I went to a dealership. We bought quads. I'm like, “Can you race these?” They're like, “Yeah, sure!” So I learned how to ride while I was learning how to race, basically! But I loved it from the second I was on the track, I was absolutely hooked 100%. I loved the adrenaline. Just everything about it. Jumping, and cornering, and the competition, and the dirt. Just how brutal it all can be. I really, really liked it and I just flourished from there.”
CAN-AM: YOU’VE BEEN RACING WHEEL-TO-WHEEL EVER SINCE, WHICH IS DIFFERENT FROM A LOT OF OFF-ROAD RACING SERIES OUT THERE.
“I just really enjoy pitting myself and my skill against the competition. I like the really close battles of motocross, because you're elbow to elbow and it's very much gladiator style racing and I really, really like that. That's why I like motocross for the same reason. It's very much a battle and it can be very close battling and I like that type of competition.”
“For motocross, I got fast fairly quickly, but I was also very cautious because I was an adult and I had kids and I had a full time job and I couldn't get hurt! I'm racing against a bunch of 16, 17 year old boys and it's like okay, well they don't care. I do. I've always approached it with caution. I have to walk that line of not being too cautious, being just cautious enough.”
CAN-AM: SPEAKING OF THE YOUNGER GENERATIONS—AS YOUR CAREER WAS PROGRESSING, WERE YOUR KIDS IMPRESSED AT ALL?
“It's funny because when I started racing, they were four and six, and there were a lot of days where I would take them out to the track with me. I actually met Jason, my husband now, back when I was racing after I'd gone through divorce, I had met him at the track. We've always been racing together…and that just became our lifestyle. So the kids, we would bring them out to the track and we would set them up to be comfortable and we’d go racing.”
“I don't know that they've ever particularly been really impressed—I think that it's just been what mom does!”
CAN-AM: STILL, BEING AN ACCOMPLISHED RACER ISN’T THE TYPICAL “MOM” CAREER, CORRECT?
“Yeah, if somebody doesn't know me or know the industry and they meet us and they find out what I do, it blows their mind pretty much. That's always a fun conversation to have. It's not exactly stereotypical I guess, but for us, it's been our life and it's just completely normal.”