DOUG McCAMMON.......#92...Illinois...(retired)
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Got to meet Doug last year at Eldora... loved watching him drive...
Sorry that he had to retire when I was just starting to get into the racing scene..
He came back to our camper along with several other people and looked at my "Chad Kinder Album"... He said, "This is what fans are all about." He told me that there was a fan that followed him around to all his races and that she had more pictures and stats then he had......
Really had a nice time talking with him....

DOUG AT OUR CAMPSITE IN ELDORA
2002

Doug McCammon in the 70"s

Doug told me this is a picture of the very first time he was headed to race..
Was headed for Stoy, Illinois....
1972

his first car #260........ raced this at Crawford Co. Speedway
Picture taken at Olney Illinois... September 9, 1972

the middle guy is Doug's father "Pete".... Said he was a big part of his racing team through the early years.... A great support for him as well as helping him in the pit area....

this was Doug's 2nd car that he drove....

Harry McPheran is standing by the window... (flag man at Crawford Co)

Doug taking the win...

this picture was taken at Eldora..

what a cool picture of Doug

Doug said this was a very cool trailer when he was racing in the early 80's...
Said the only ones that had the big rigs were the drivers that traveled all over to race.... now days everyone has them...

news clipping on Doug

MY INTERVIEW WITH DOUG McCAMMON
March 3, 2005

Where to start........ I only hope I do him justice...... I was in such awe of interviewing him that I hope I got it all down....
He is a legend of his time......

Doug is from Palestine, Illinois.. Works in Robinson for his long time friend Rod Sparks. When Doug talks about Rod you would think he was talking about a brother. Rod has been Dougs car owner, partner, crew cheif as well as his best friend....
Dougs career spanned over three decades...

He told me that as a kid of 8 or 9 he use to go to the races at Sullivan, Indiana and his hero was Bud Lewis #1....
He told me that when Crawford Co. Speedway opened he went out and watched.... and then told his dad that he needed to go out and see the races with him... He said they went a few times and decided they wanted to try it out...
Doug started his racing career at the end of the season in 1972 at Crawford Co..Speedway.... Said he got to race against Bud Lewis once... Bud was just at the end of his career as he was starting his...
I asked him if his family supported him in his racing career and he told me he had been very lucky with that.... He told me he had got married to his wife Sheila in May of 72 and started racing in August.... He told me that in the 30 years of his career she not once ever complained..She totally supported him and he gives her a lot of the credit for his success.... He said his dad Pete helped him for years in the pit area.. His brother Mike raced some and then helped him in his pit...
He said all his family came out to the local tracks to support and cheer for him. Then in the early 80"s he started traveling around to different states and the family had to stop going.. Said that first year was really rough without them being there but then he got use to it....
Dougs career started out at the Crawford Co. Speedway and then to all the surrounding local tracks with a car that was built at home...
His first car was #260..... In 1973 his number changed to #75..
The first car he started traveling with was the yellow #95 in 1975 at the age of 26 yrs......... This was the year he started driving for someone else...
He said the car was really good and he got 14 to 15 wins a year with it...
He also claimed a Track Championship with it...
In 1977 he got his first factory built car and traveled with it..Was the number #95 also..
In 1978 he went to Florida (Volusia) for the first time... The next time he went down was in 1996 where he raced Volusia and East Bay both..
In 1978 Doug met C.J. Rayburn... He said that C.J. was interested in Drag Racing and was just getting into Dirt Track Racing... At that time C.J. was only building engines.... C.J. told Doug to give him a call...they might be able to get something going..... so..... Doug did.... After that the two were involved with each other in some way through the rest of his career whether it was driving a Rayburn car or having his motor or him helping him in some way...
In the 80's he became the No# 92 (Harold Spark's number and car)..... He said around 79 or 80 racing had started changing alot.... All the cars now were basically factory built cars and the tracks were starting to change.... that they were letting them get slick....... He said Harold had one of the factory built cars and was having a really hard time adjusting to the new style.... He had raced many years and was having a hard time changing over..... Doug said he went to Haubstadt one night and Harold was having a really rough night..... Harold asked Doug if he would like to drive his car in the feature.... Doug said sure , he would give it a try.... Because they changed drivers Doug had to start at the tail... By the end of the race Doug had made it up to second place.... The rest is history....Doug took over as the driver of Sparks and Sons.....#92
He told me when he first started driving for Harold, Rod was only 13 or 14 years old but you would not have known it if you had seen him working in the pit on the car... you would have thought he was a 25 year old.... Said Rod never wanted to drive a car but he loved working on them... That was the beginning of a twenty-two year relationship..........
Doug said racing was an emotional roller coaster where you were constantly going up and down....... He said that Rod was very mellow and layed back... He said Rod would help keep him focused....
When I asked him what he thought it took to be a good driver he told me that he once was talking with Kenny Schrader and that Kenny had said it was very important to have good vision..... Doug said that after thinking about what he said he totally agreed.... He also said that you have to have a bulldog attitude... NEVER GIVE UP.... Even when things are not going your way you can't give up...You have to drive every race with your mind on taking first.....
He said he and Rod had thought about ending their career a year earlier in 2001 but decided to go one more year... He said he was glad they did because when he walked away he knew he was ready... He feels he never left anything on the table.....Feels satisfied with what he accomplished...
Said that he and Rod had an agreement...that when one stepped down the other would too..... Said that they had talked about it and when they decided it was more work then fun that would be the time to stop...
I asked him if he had something that stuck out in his mind that he had done in his career... He told me it was special when he got his first win at Haubstadt in 1988 and taking the win for $5,000 at Kankakee in the Illinois Dirt Classic...

IN 1983, 84, and 85 he drove a Rayburn car...
He sit out the year or 1986..
The next year .... his 3rd car ... Rod and Doug owned it and ran it with Harold Spark's motor....
In 1999 he had both a Rayburn car and a Warrior
2000 he had a Rayburn and Warrior
In 2001 he had strictly a Warrior and then stuck with them...

I know I am leaving some stuff out..... He was so great to interview...
Thankyou so much Doug.... It was a great honor to get to meet with you and get this interview.....
This will always be one of my most valued interviews.....
cj

#92 Warrior

Doug's fan club
1998
Picture given to him for his birthday

left to right:
Kimberely (niece)/Brittney (crew members daughter)/Galey (niece)/Audrey (crew members daughter)/Chaney (grand daughter)/Sierra (neighbors little girl)/Sidney (nieces daughter)/Taylor (crew members daughter)/Baylee (Rod Sparks daughter)

ALL GIRLS

Doug