A sprint car racer’s journey from zero to hero

There’s something to be said about the significance of pursuing a hobby for decades, going from a novice to season championship winner, as well as making lifetime friends and an abundance of memories. Throughout the past 66 years, this is exactly what Quentin Campbell, a sprint car racer from Perryville, Mo., has done.

Campbell’s journey started when he wanted to take his boat out fishing with his buddies, but no one was available. So, he traded his boat for a stock car, and at the age of 21, started a hobby that would last a lifetime.

Sprint car racing is a type of racing that takes place on a rough, oval-shaped track. Participants race in cars just big enough to fit one person inside of them. Although he doesn't drive the cars anymore, Campbell builds his own cars from scratch, a skill he has learned throughout his racing career.

For Campbell, the reason he keeps coming back to racing is the enjoyment.

“Saturday nights were made for racing, that’s my attitude. And the people you get to meet in racing and everything like that, from Springfield, Ill., and Indiana, just all around. Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas,” Campbell says.

And meet people, he has. Every year, during the first two weeks of August, Campbell and a friend he met racing take a trip to Knoxville, Iowa, to the sprint car nationals. Campbell says they have been going on this trip together for approximately 31 years.

Campbell says the suspense of knowing a crash could transform someone from “a hero to a zero” in a heartbeat is a big part of the intrigue of racing. In fact, crashing is common enough most cars are built with a roll cage, a metal framework that goes around the car to protect the driver in a collision. He remembers a particularly bad crash a buddy of his was in, going from 90 to 0 in a half a second, which made national TV.

Campbell's car typically races at the St. Francois County Fairgrounds in Farmington, Mo., every Saturday during the summer, which is where one can also find Campbell, as well as at races all throughout the region. In the more than 60 years he’s spent racing, Campbell has seen a lot of tracks come and go. But in general, he sees more tracks getting shut down than opening.

Campbell theorizes the popularity of sprint car racing is waning because of the growing availability of instant entertainment. Cell phones and computers make it easier to stay occupied, but Campell believes it’s important to keep the mind active with hobbies, as well.

In terms of keeping his own mind active, Campbell has learned many different tricks to account for changes in the racing conditions. Throughout a typical night, Campbell makes several adjustments to the car, including wheel spacing, tire pressure and even switching out tires, to account for how wet or dry the track is.

One of the sprint cars Quentin Campbell built sits at his home in Perryville, Mo. Campbell says it takes an average of two to three weeks to build a car.Aaron Eisenhauer

“It’s good for your mind, keeps you going physically and mentally. You’re always thinking. When I’m at the racetrack, I’m not a very nice person, in a manner of speaking, because I’m focused on my car,” Campbell says.

It takes Campbell an average of two to three weeks to build a car — he’s currently building one in his garage, which he plans to put on the track soon.

Campbell says his car building journey has been largely characterized by trial and error. He estimates he’s built 11 cars throughout his lifetime, and by bouncing his ideas off other racers and continuing to learn, he’s found exactly what it takes to build a winning car.

This dedication to learning and improving is evident in Campbell’s numerous trophies from 1998, 2018, 2021 and more. Several of them are first-place trophies for an entire season of racing. Campbell says it took him a while to achieve a season-long first-place trophy.

“Every Saturday night, they keep points where you finish, and there’s usually 20 to 30 cars there at the track. So, you’re the top one out of 20, 30 cars for the whole [April through October] season,” Campbell says. “The competition’s chasing after you hard, but you still come out on top as a winner.”

Find more photos from Quentin's garage at The Best Years' Facebook page.