MOORESVILLE, North Carolina (May 31, 2011) – – Spraker Racing Enterprises (SRE) formally announced today that Martinsville Speedway president Clay Campbell will drive the remainder of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (NKNPSE) schedule beginning with this weekend’s Army Strong 150 at Bowman Gray (N.C.) Stadium.
Campbell will drive the No. 08 Mountain Dew Chevrolet Impala as he attempts his third career NKNPSE start on Saturday, June 4. The Pepsi-brand soft drink will carry its signage for the remainder of the year with Spraker Racing Enterprises owner Jeff Spraker calling the shots as crew chief.
“We are very humbled but yet excited about this announcement,” said Spraker Racing’s Jeff Spraker. “Clay undoubtedly has a passion for racing and this opportunity for us to pair with him and Mountain Dew is huge. We’re eager to advance Clay’s program to a full-time effort and we’re hoping to find some great success on and off the track with this new program.”
The 51-year old Campbell is eagerly excited about the opportunity to pair with Spraker and his team.
“It’s truly been a dream come true to drive for Spraker Racing Enterprises this year,” said Campbell. “I feel Jeff and I have a lot in common in that we both grew up in this sport. We both have a passion and love for racing which really aligns our thought process perfectly. When I first started looking to get into the K&N Series, everyone told me to go talk to Jeff Spraker. I think that says a lot. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed getting to know him and Sue (Spraker, wife). I can say this, if he tells you something, you can take it to the bank.”
When Campbell was asked how a now-full time driving role may affect his duties at the legendary Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, he offered this explanation.
“The K&N Pro Series East schedule fits nicely into my work schedule at Martinsville Speedway. Most of the races are in the summer months and our big races at Martinsville are early in the year and late in the year. I’ve been driving late model stock cars in the summer months for a long time so now I’m just taking it another step up and traveling a little more. It doesn’t interfere at all with my day job though. In fact, I hope it works to my advantage by getting Martinsville Speedway some more attention.”
Spraker agreed with Campbell’s sentiments.
“The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East schedule works well for a lot of different reasons,” Spraker said. “Not only is it a great developmental series that races on some of NASCAR’s most ideal race tracks but it’s schedule offers a lot of flexibility to allow someone like Clay to focus on some of the bigger items off on the race track. We’re going to have everything taken care from a competition side, so all he has to do when he shows up at the track is drive.”
Mountain Dew, a long-time fixture in the NASCAR community will continue its relationship with Campbell from a business standpoint at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway but now leans on a new enterprise to back his racing endeavors.
“We couldn’t be more pleased than to have Mountain Dew come on board as our sponsor. For so long that Mountain Dew logo was so iconic in this sport and to have them on our car is just phenomenal! The fine folks at Pepsi have been associated with me and Martinsville Speedway for a long time and I’m just thrilled they will now have their colors on my race car,” sounded Campbell.
With no prediction and guarantee on results on the race track both driver and team are on the same page knowing that giving 150 percent will boast a package that cannot be broken.
“The NASCAR K&N Series is very competitive right now, probably one of the most competitive divisions in all of NASCAR,” added Spraker. “This team has shown that it can run up front and we believe in Clay’s ability to drive a race car. With that being said we know that if we stick to our game plan and give all we can that results will come.”
The Army Strong 150 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East at Bowman Gray (N.C.) Stadium is set for this Saturday, June 4 with a set liftoff at 8:00 p.m. The event will be tape-delayed on SPEED airing June 9 at 6:00 p.m.
Mike Bliss, Dexter Bean, Drew Brannon, Kerry Earnhardt, Joey Gase, Ron Hornaday Jr., P.J. Jones, Alex Kennedy, Brandon McReynolds, Steve Park, David Ragan, Scott Riggs, David Reutimann, Michelle Theriault, Darrell Waltrip and Smokey Yunick are just some of the drivers that Spraker, who also has starts for himself in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series (NKNPS), NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) and NASCAR Nationwide Series has been affiliated with in one capacity or another through SRE.
For more information on Spraker Racing Enterprises (SRE) and its available programs, please visit sprakerracing.com http://www.sprakerracing.com/ .