Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Fast Times ARRIVE FOR LINCOLN FROSH
14-year-old is youngest driver in stock car races at Crawford County speedway.
FARMINGTON — Camden Perry, a ninth grader at Lincoln High School, likes to go fast and he gets the chance every weekend.
The 14- year- old is the youngest driver in the stock car races at Crawford County Speedway in Van Buren. And he likes it that way.
“I just like to go fast,” Camden said. “I like to be the little one out there beating all the old guys.”
He estimates that he probably races about 75 miles- per- hour on the curves at the race track and goes as fast as 90 mph on the straightaways. He usually races against drivers who are in their 20s and 30s and even a few are up in their 60s.
It probably was a foregone conclusion that Camden would want to race cars.
His dad started racing when he was in his 20s. His older brother is 29 years old and races. Even Camden’s older sister has raced. His mother, Carmen Perry, does not race but spends her weekends cheering on those who do.
Camden started racing go carts at age 4. A few years ago, he graduated to a sprint car and then about a year ago began racing a regular stock car.
Now, he drives a 360E modified stock car. His dad bought the car and the two worked together to build up the car and make it race ready.
He usually wins prize money each Saturday in Van Buren and on one particular night several weeks ago won all three of his races. That weekend, Camden won the “Hot Laps” practice run, won his heat race and then came in first place for the feature race.
Perry also likes basketball, but most of his free time is spent working on his car or racing on the weekends. He likes racing, he said, because it gives him something to do and helps keep him out of trouble.
He also likes competing against his own brother and sometimes Camden wins and other times the brother beats him.
The hardest part about racing, Camden said, is dodging the wrecks on the track and trying to prevent his car from being damaged.
Carmen Perry said she sometimes is nervous watching her son speed around the track but admits she's grown accustomed to it because the family has been involved in racing for so long. The sport requires extensive safety precautions and Perry said that helps when she's watching her son.
Camden wears a fire suit, helmet, gloves, neck brace and a hans device, which offers head and neck support. His vehicle has roll bars for protection during rollovers.
The one thing Carmen Perry has had to watch, she said, is how fast he goes while driving away from the racetrack.
“He goes fast,” she said, laughing, “and I have to constantly tell him to slow down.”