CONCORD, NC :: Ken Schrader Racing, Inc. announced today it will field a full-time team in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards in 2014 with veteran driver Ken Schrader sharing the driving duties with Matt Tifft and Clay Campbell. Federated Auto Parts will continue its primary sponsorship of KSR for the 15th consecutive year.
“Everyone at Federated is excited about continuing our long relationship with Ken Schrader and our full-season sponsorship of the Schrader Racing ARCA team in 2014,” said J.R. Bishop, director of motorsports and event marketing for Federated. “We are really looking forward to having Matt Tifft, one of the future stars of racing, drive the Federated ARCA car, as well having Clay Campbell, one of the most respected figures in NASCAR, behind the wheel of the Federated ARCA car for two races. We are putting together a great hospitality program surrounding the ARCA schedule that we know our members and their customers will really enjoy, so we can’t wait to get racing in 2014.”
Schrader will drive the No. 52 Federated Auto Parts car in 10 races, while Tifft, of Hinckley, Ohio, will be behind the wheel of the No. 52 for eight events. Campbell, president of Martinsville Speedway, will drive the No. 52 Federated Auto Parts car in two of the 2014 ARCA races – the February 15 season opener at Daytona International Speedway and the May 3 event at Talladega Superspeedway.
Tifft, a 17-year-old high school senior, has been racing since 2007, when he got his start in a Go-Kart at Barberton Speedway in Norton, Ohio. Since then, Tifft has moved up, expanding his driving resume to include Late Models and stock cars in NASCAR’s K&N Pro Series East and ARCA. In 2012, he won Rookie of the Year honors in ARCA’s Midwest Tour. In 2013, Tifft ran the full NASCAR K&N East Series and selected ARCA races. His best finish of the season came at Toledo on May 19 where he finished fifth.
“I am very excited to make the move to Ken Schrader Racing and very proud to represent Federated Auto Parts,” Tifft said. “The team is a proven winner and consistent high finisher, and I look forward to adding to the success this team has already had. It is very cool to me to be racing for Ken Schrader. I’ve had one of his diecast cars since I was about five years old! I know I will learn a lot from him on and off the track.”
Campbell, a 25-year veteran of NASCAR’s Late Model series, raced at Daytona and Talladega in 2013. Since 2011, Campbell also has competed whenever possible in NASCAR’s K&N Pro Series East.
“Growing up in this sport like I have, obviously, I’ve known Ken Schrader and followed his career for a long time and have tremendous respect for him,” Campbell said. “To now drive for him in the Federated Auto Parts No. 52 is really a highlight of my life. Ken loves racing and has a passion for it just like I do. He knows both sides of this business by being a driver as well as a track owner. I’m the same way, just the exact opposite.
“I enjoy racing at Daytona and Talladega and with Ken, his equipment and his team, I really think we have a great opportunity to run well. For him to have confidence enough to put me in that car means a great deal to me and I’m looking forward to it.”
“We are proud to be running a full ARCA schedule next season,” Schrader said. “With Matt and Clay assisting with the team’s driving duties, I will be able to run our No. 9 Federated Auto Parts Dirt Modified and still compete in the ARCA Series. Donnie Richeson will again head up our North Carolina-based team and be calling the shots from the pit box. He has worked with many young drivers and I believe he and Matt will be a great combination. Clay brings 25 years of driving experience to the KSR team and will be a major asset at the big tracks.”
Schrader will again run the July 23 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Eldora Speedway where he captured the pole in 2013. Tifft also will compete in four K&N East races in a KSR-prepared car.
