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Ely Loper Overcoming Opponents on and off Track

By Chuck Corder
5flagsspeedway.com reporter

It seems like Ely Loper has lived multiple lives in just 16 years.
In his current one, the Alabama teenager is enjoying a breakout performance in his first full season driving in the Lloyd’s Glass Pure Stocks Series at Five Flags Speedway. Ely has two wins in two starts and leads the points standings by 9 points over Pensacola’s Connor Odom. He also owns a pair of wins this year at Mobile International Speedway, just minutes from his home in Grand Bay.

“There’s a lotta work behind the scenes that people don’t see that helps me be successful,” Ely said. “You have to mentally prepare yourself for each track. Five Flags is a lot harder than Mobile. It’s a big mind game having the wall all the way around you, inside and out, and you can immediately hit the wall if something goes wrong.”
Ely will be one of the many racers handing out hero cards and souvenirs to fans on Meet the Drivers Night this Friday, May 1. The Pure Stocks (25 laps) will be joined by the Faith Chapel Outlaws (35), Story and Bleich Roofing Crown Stocks (25) and the Legacy Series (20).
Gates open at 5 p.m. Friday with racing slated for 8 p.m. A tent just inside the grandstands will be handing out chances to win more than 30 bicycles and other prizes for children.
Download the Ticket Hoss app and get tickets for just $5. Buy now through the app (https://tickethoss.com/track/2), receive that special advance admission price and save your money for concessions.
A racer by 4, Ely Loper has always been a champion. First in go-karts and Bandoleros at his hometrack of Sunny South Raceway in Grand Bay and as recent as 2024 when he won the Pure Stocks championship at MIS.
But Ely’s life changed forever 8 years ago. It’s a battle whose aftershocks still plague Ely today.

Ely is a survivor of chronic pancreatitis. The inflammatory disease attacks internal organs, causing unbearable abdominal pain, extreme weight loss and agonizing digestive issues.
“When I was going through it every week, in and out of hospitals, and I was trying to race on top, it messed with my head,” Ely said. “But honestly, I feel like racing is what kept me alive. It gave me something to look forward to.”
Ely continued to race through countless doctor visits and trips to children’s hospitals across the country.
“There were times we’d be at the hospital and that same day we’d still go race Bandos and Legends,” said Robert Loper, Ely’s dad and five-time Pure Stocks Snowball Derby champion. “And he would win. He’s got the heart for it. He’s a perfectionist at everything. He doesn’t like change.
“We owe our racing community a big thanks, too. There was always a hand back home wanting to help us. One of the racers fed my animals every day. It’s what friends do.”

Last April, after years on a waitlist, Ely had surgery to remove his pancreas, gallbladder and appendix before doctors transplanted insulin cells to his liver. The procedure, known as pancreatectomy, took 16 hours and 16 weeks of rehabilitation at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.
“They reconstructed his whole gut system,” Robert Loper said. “It was major surgery. They had to reroute and weld him back together.”
Doctors, nurses and medical staff told Ely, Robert and mom Scoti that it would take more than 12 weeks of physical therapy to be released from the hospital.
“I’ll be up and good in 7 weeks,” Ely told the experts.
“No, sir. No way,” the experts said back to him.
“Watch. I’m telling y’all,” Ely replied.
The determined young man was done in 4 weeks and released to a Ronald McDonald House in Cincinnati for a few weeks before returning to the Gulf Coast.
He spent 2025 recovering and learning to live his next life. While the surgery certainly saved Ely, the total pancreatectomy means he will forever battle diabetes. He has small, wearable devices that mimic a healthy pancreas and keep his blood sugar in check.
“I have an insulin pump and a Continuous Glucose Monitor that tracks me all day, and it automatically knows,” Ely said. “Before, I had to do this all myself, which was tough on race days. It’s hot, I’m sweating and it’s causing my sugar to drop.”

He’s still learning how to adapt to this new life. A day before winning last week’s Pure Stocks feature at Five Flags, Ely was nearly admitted to an ICU in Mobile. His blood sugar had spiked to 991 and his sodium was abysmally low.
“He was a severe risk for a seizure,” Robert Loper said. “Ely was mad they brought him to the ICU. He was afraid of losing the points championship races (at Five Flags and MIS).
“The hospital called one of the doctors in Cincinnati, who said, ‘Do not put that child in an ICU!’ and he provided some suggestions. Two hours later, his sugar was down and his sodium levels had come up.”
Such his Ely Loper’s life these days. It’s just another battle for the young man to overcome.
Those closest to Ely know that no challenge in life will be too daunting for him to prevail.
“My hero calls me dad,” the elder Loper said of his son. “I tell everybody that (Ely is) my hero.”

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