In
The Traps with Camp Stanley |
 The NSCA
faithful know who Camp Stanley is, but what do they know about
him? The Campster was famous for
being a member of ‘The Wild Bunch’ and his off the
wall blown Taurus wagon. A travelling circus who always had the
fans on their feet, the Wild Bunch were amongst those who paved
the way for what we now call Pro Modified. Camp really was a
pioneer in fast doorslammer racing and now with his son John
behind the wheel of the Stanley / Weiss Pro Outlaw Camaro, he
is enjoying life even more. Here are some of the things you may
not know about the Campster.
WHEN DID YOU START RACING: 1967 WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST RACECAR: When I started playing around in ’67 it was with a 1962 Chevy II. We only ran brackets at local events but we had a lot of fun with that ole deuce. My first blower car was a ’69 Camaro that we ran in IHRA Quick Rod in 1978. From there it was onward and upward as they say! WIERDEST THING EVER IN RACING: I think that had to be in Brisbane, Australia in 1990. Tommy Howes and I were over there to race the Australian Wild Bunch. A local newspaper wanted to write an article on the upcoming Oz versus USA shootout but had no publicity photos. They hustled us off to the closest unused airport and Tommy and I gave them the best burnout and chute shots they had ever seen! They really love their racing in the Southern Hemisphere and I enjoy every trip I make down there. MOST SATISFYING MOMENT IN RACING: That had to be seeing my son John pick up the Rookie of the Year title at last year’s award banquet. The kid had never run anything faster than mid eight seconds and here he was collecting the Rookie award in his first year of Heads Up racing. I think that moment was even more satisfying than running my first 6-second and 200-mph passes fourteen years ago. MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSON IN YOUR CAREER: I would have to say, Don Hampton. Don ran Hampton Blowers and was the only guy who would talk to a dummy like me wanting to run a blower on gas and then go bracket racing with it. I have a lot of respect for Don, helping out the little guy, spending his valuable time talking to someone he would not make a pile of money out of. He is a real class act and we need more guys like him in racing. YOUR PERSONAL FAVORITE RACECAR: Most people always remember the Taurus wagon or the Chevy Luv pickup truck but my personal favorite is the ’90 Thunderbird. The double rail chassis was built by RCD out of Gaithersburg, MD and was powered by a blown 542 cubic inch Rodeck. We ran a best of 6.92 at 202 mph with that sucker, so I was pretty happy with that. YOUR BIGGEST RIVAL: Without a doubt, Tommy Howes. The guy was the Marc Dantoni of our era, running quicker and faster than anyone else and winning everything around. That made him the guy with the bullseye on his back and we always tried harder when we lined up against Tommy. WHAT’S
IN THE FUTURE: Well,
for a guy that just turned sixty I feel pretty good running around
doing the things I do. We are totally committed to giving John
the
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tools required to do the job in Pro Outlaw. Pat and Randy
at ProCar gave us a chassis that can handle the power Mike Janis
and John Vouros are now giving us. John is so comfortable in
the car he is now able to refine his driving. I am damn proud
of the kid and glad I can be here to help him out! He now has
run quicker than the old man and we might just have to rectify
that. Not many people know I had a eighth mile squirt in the
old car last year at Martin. I had a ball, even if it was only
a shutoff 7.80 at 110 mph. It was twelve years since I last pulled
Lenco levers but it ended up feeling like twelve minutes. It
might just be time for another pass, especially as John keeps
on about how nice the new Camaro drives. 
