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Magician's best trick: Defeating leukemia!

Four-foot 10 inch Chad Juros had the rapt attention of his heroes - seasoned NASCAR drivers and crew members - as he performed magic tricks on a cold, dreary day.

As much as he was impressed with Richard Petty and John Andretti, you had to believe they were equally inspired by the undersized magician dubbed Chadakazam for the magic act he performs at parties and public venues near his home in southern New Jersey. But Chad's greatest magic trick is his victory over leukemia.

Diagnosed with cancer when he was 3, Chad was supposed to die twice according to doctors treating him at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The prognosis now, said his mother Penny is "great for the Cancer, but we don't know about the brain".

During his most recent checkup, doctors found that Chad is bleeding in the brain. They plan to perform exploratory surgery in May to find out what's causing it.

Chad was the 15th annual Richard Petty Gold Classic last week at Asheboro Country Club, an event to raise money for the Victory Junction Gang Camp being built at Level Cross for chronically ill children.

"It's a thrill for him to be here," said Penny Juros. "He loves NASCAR. His passions are NASCAR and magic."

Chad learned magic tricks from his late father, Don, while he was lying in hospital beds with tubes attached to him. Don died in January 2000, a victim of brain cancer.

Although Chad will never be a Victory Junction Gang camper, he would like to work there sometime. There's no doubt he'd charm campers with his magic tricks.

Victory Junction Gang camp, scheduled to open in 2004, has been the main beneficiary of the Richard Petty Classic for the last couple of years.

"The initial deal was to raise money for the Burn Center in Chapel Hill" through the Randleman Jaycess, said Petty. "We got to be the biggest contributory to the Burn Center.

Last year he said, a portion of the money went to the camp, and now Victory Junction is the primary charity of the fundraiser.


"The tournament is also good publicity for the camp," Petty said. "It gives us a better chance to get people to help. "

David Caughron, director of the event, said the goal this year is $50,000. He said 216 golfers originally registered and about 210 showed up on the cold, damp day.