Mead Eager to Get Back Behind the Wheel… If Mother Nature Allows
HUNTERSVILLE, NC (Sept. 20, 2017) – For Matt Mead, rain has been an extremely unwelcome sight this year. The 18-year old racecar driver has made numerous trips south to Florida only to turn around and return home to North Carolina due to rainouts at New Smyrna Speedway, the track where he and his Anthony Campi Racing team have been focusing their efforts this season.
The last time Mead was behind the wheel in competition was the end of July, nearly two months ago. The memory of that race is a pleasant one as he finished second at New Smyrna, just a handful of car lengths from the leader. It was, by far, the best race of his short stock car career on the half-mile layout near Florida’s east coast.
The Mead family had eleven races on Matt’s schedule throughout the year. Now, the vast majority of those shows will be run in the next two to three months, pending weather, giving Mead and Campi ample time to get a regular chemistry brewing as the pair strives for top three runs and the chance to contend for wins.
“This weekend, it’s a toss-up both days, so who knows if we’ll get the race in,” Mead said with a laugh when asked about the upcoming event. “All this rain kinda has me irritated, to be honest. With so much time between races, it can take some time to get used to everything again and get back up to speed. I’ve got to go over the driving line, braking points, and overall get a feel for the car again. It can take a little bit of time to get all of that back.”
While the race is officially only a one-day event, Mead and the Campi team spend Friday afternoons at the track testing, working to find additional speed and give Matt more time to learn the car and the track itself. It gives Mead the chance to turn as many as four or five times as many laps as he would on a raceday, meaning a faster, quicker learning curve for the former Legend car driver.
“Matt is an outstanding young man,” said Anthony Campi, owner of the No. 81 Toyotas which Matt drives. “He hasn’t been given too much seat time because of the weather, but thus far he’s shown he can progress from race to race. With all the rainouts and such, it has hindered his development and hopefully the weather can get us back on track as often as everyone would like. The test days have helped us a ton, but there’s nothing quite like competing with others on the track.”
This weekend, Matt hopes the weather passes by the track though forecast models have been varied for the last few days. If the race runs on Saturday night, it starts at 7pm ET. Matt enters the race fourth in track points, easily within striking distance of third place with a considerable amount of races still remaining.
“The good thing is that there are quite a few races scheduled for us in the next two months as long as there aren’t any more rain outs,” Mead said excitedly. “Although, honestly, I wouldn’t mind if it cooled down a bit from the summer temperatures we experienced back in June and July.”
For more information and the latest updates about Matt, find him on social media such as Facebook (@MeadRacingTeam), Twitter (@mead_24) and Instagram (@mattmead24). Additional updates can also be found on his website at MeadRacingTeam.com.
Sources: Performance Marketing Group