From the bottom of the qualifying sheet to the top of the podium, Cam Clark’s weekend at the IHRA Outlaw Nitro Series at Darana Motorsports Park – Dunn was the definition of a Cinderella story.
The Reidsville, North Carolina, native entered race day with little momentum. After struggling through qualifying and landing last in the 14-car field, Clark admitted confidence was at an all-time low.
“Well, we definitely struggled through qualifying,” Clark said. “I really didn’t know what I was missing, but I was overlooking something. I looked at it last night, looked at it all this morning, and then it slapped me in the face — this is your problem. It’s still not perfect right now, but it’s definitely better because it made the trip and got a little faster.”
Despite the early frustrations, everything changed when eliminations began. In the Ingle Racing ‘69 Camaro Clark, the No. 14 qualifier, lined up against top qualifier Fred Scriba in the opening round. In a stunning upset, Clark left first and never looked back, taking the win on a holeshot. That victory earned him a bye in round two, giving his team a moment to regroup before heading into the semifinals.
However, right after the bye run, Clark and his team thrashed in the pits to repair the car for the next round.
There, Clark met veteran racer Billy Albert and laid down one of his strongest passes of the weekend — a 3.676 at 201.52 mph — to advance to the final round.
Waiting for him was friend Dane Wood. The two drivers left the line nearly together, but once again, Clark’s quick reaction time made the difference. His .046 light and 3.698-second pass at 202.73 mph was just enough to edge out Wood’s .054 reaction time and quicker 3.691 at 201.49 mph — a razor-thin margin of victory of just .001 seconds.
It was a storybook finish to a rollercoaster weekend.
“Yesterday evening I was ready to go home,” Clark admitted. “I’ve been at the bottom of the sheet before, and it’s never fun because you have no confidence. You don’t know where you need to be or what’s going to happen.”
When asked what was going through his mind as he advanced through each round, Clark said he tried not to overthink it.
“I really didn’t even try to think because the more I think, the more I do wrong,” he said with a laugh. “I was just on the radio talking junk. The more I think about it, the more I get in my own head, and I’ll mess up. I just let it happen — when I start the car, then it’s serious time.”
For Clark, the win carried even more meaning as it marked his first-ever IHRA event.
“You know, it didn’t matter to me which of us won — Dane’s a really good friend. I would’ve been just as happy if he did,” he said. “But to win my first IHRA event, that’s something to say.”
Clark was quick to credit the people behind the scenes who helped turn his weekend around.
“I really want to thank the Ingle family for giving me the opportunity to drive, my girlfriend, my crew guys William and Bo — who wasn’t here — and all my sponsors,” he said. “The guys helped us change the rear gear between rounds. It couldn’t have been possible without them. I’m just the guy who gets to sit in the seat and drive. It isn’t me that wins these races — it’s the team.”
This story was originally published on November 13, 2025. 
