MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Even though his final ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards start of the season is newly six weeks away, Martinsville (Va.) Speedway president Clay Campbell was all smiles talking about his upcoming race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
“We’re all set,” Campbell told CATCHFENCE.com.
Campbell will return to Ken Schrader’s No. 52 Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet for his seventh ARCA start since 2012. While the Martinsville, Virginia native has had success in the other superspeedway track of Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway with a third place finish last February, the 55-year old racer hasn’t been as fortunate at the 2.66-mile oval.
“I’m looking forward to going to Talladega,” said Campbell. “We’re taking the same car we had at Daytona and obviously that’s a good piece. They (ARCA) have a test next week, we’re not doing that ‘cause ARCA didn’t change rules from Daytona to Talladega. We feel pretty confident. Hopefully, we’ll have better results than we did at Daytona.”
Three prior starts at the Alabama-track have only been able to produce a best finish of 26th in his 2012 debut for Spraker Racing Enterprises. Last May, Campbell qualified ninth but experienced tire issues during the race, relegating the former NASCAR K&N Pro Series East competitor with a 29th place finish.
In February at Daytona, Campbell qualified a career-best fifth and proved himself to be a contender early, but overheating issues sent him to pit road during a green-flag run, putting an abrupt stop to his race. He finished a disappointing 35th after completing 62 of the scheduled 80 circuits.
With his sporadic racing career unknown following Talladega, Campbell said should next month’s International Motorsports Hall of Fame 200 be his final ARCA Racing Series race, he wants nothing more than the opportunity to put owner and friend Ken Schrader in Victory Lane.
“I can’t think of anything that would make me any happier,” added Campbell. “That Federated Auto Parts team they give it all they got. It’s a good group of guys. We have good equipment, a great car owner with Kenny Schrader, cause he knows racing – a true racing guy. I think we have all the ingredients, even the nut behind the wheel, so we’re looking forward to it.”
Campbell’s adrenaline, passion and love for stock car racing, NASCAR in particular makes his a fan favorite whether he’s racing or directing the ship at Martinsville. But come May 2, there’s that little extra incentive for Campbell to pull off the upset and make restrictor plate magic maybe, just maybe for the final time.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
