COPPER HILL, VA :: Have you ever woke up one morning and just decided you were going to go on a road trip to Daytona in February? Well, that’s exactly what happened with Garrett Campbell. Two days before he made the decision to go to Daytona, he was planning on leasing out his car.
“We just decided this week that we’re going to go down,” Campbell said. “The off-season’s been too long. We’re ready to get back behind the wheel to get a little money. Luckily I’m fortunate enough to wake up and say, ‘Mom, I want to race at Daytona’. Luckily I have a straight rail that’s going to be competitive and I think it’s better than the other cars. We’re going to test a little bit.”
Campbell is a former winner of the Myrtle Beach 400 as well as a multiple-time winner in the UARA-STARS Series. Campbell has experience at a variety of tracks and hopes his experience will pay off with the straight-rail chassis he’s taking with him to the UNOH Battle at the Beach on February 18th.
“The straight-rails are going to have an advantage,” Campbell explained. “They’re lower and have better brake systems. It’s a combination of everything. The straight-rails are built for tweaking and going real fast. Where the weight’s going to be and how much they go down all depends on how fast we go. The weight in the center isn’t going to matter because the left side key isn’t key, weight in the center’s just as good as weight on the left side.”
The 150 lap NASCAR Whelen All American Series Late Model race along the backstretch of the Daytona International Speedway will be the first time Garrett Campbell’s ever raced at Daytona, but he has been there before to watch his cousin, Shane Hmiel, race.
“”I think we’ve got a pretty good shot at winning,” Campbell stated. “I’ve run a straight-rail before; it’s my own personal car. I know what the car needs and what the Goodyear tire needs having run UARA. A lot about going fast is how much load the tire can take. I think we’ve got it figured out pretty good in the straight rail. We’ve got a good brake package so I don’t think the weight’s going to hurt it at all.”
“I’ve gone to Greenville and its flat. Myrtle Beach is flat. Nobody knows what the track is; it’s going to be a new ballgame for everybody. I’ve been searching for parking lots to test in. I think we’ve got this package figured out pretty well and I don’t think there will be any comparison to any other tracks. I’ve never run anything like Legends cars at Charlotte, but it’s different from any other track. Whichever driver adapts to the track in the first five laps and has good equipment, it’s just going to click.”
Campbell says it means a lot to go to Daytona. After all, it’s what every racer dreams of.
“It means a lot,” Campbell mentioned. “A racer grows up wanting to race at Daytona, in front of a national audience. When you combine both, it makes a racer go for blood. We’re taking the best equipment we have. I’ve been to the 50th running of the Daytona 500 and the 50th running of the Rolex 24 hour race. I want to win this more than anyone.
“I’m going down there with the words of wisdom my cousin, Shane Hmiel taught me, ‘you’ve got to be smarter than the guy in front of you’. That’s what we do at Garrett Campbell Motorsports.”
Campbell has not officially signed any sponsors for the UNOH Battle at the Beach, but he says the team is working to find sponsors.
RACE22.com will continue to provide coverage leading up to the UNOH Battle at the Beach at Daytona, which will be run on February 18th, with driver interviews and preview stories. So, stick with RACE22.com, the Short Track Authority, as we continue to countdown to Daytona.
