Kids find the need for speed on the Crystal Coast
- andymarquis
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
PELETIER, NC – Carteret County Speedway has put a high-speed twist on a summer tradition.
In 2022, Carteret County Speedway launched its Kids Racing Camp as a way to get more young people involved in the sport. Over the years, it has grown in popularity and launched the racing careers of several young drivers who now compete at the Crystal Coast racetrack, including Bomber driver Deanna Stancill, who scored her first career win in April.
“Running a Go Kart in the kids camp is obviously pretty different than a regular Bomber car, but I learned the rules of the track and the different flags and everything like that,” Stancill said in an interview on the speedway's social media channels in April. “More of the safety of it. It definitely helps knowing what the different flags are, the symbols. I did a lot of learning from other Bomber drivers out here as well. They helped me a lot.”
The minicamp, headed up by track owner Bob Lowery, facility administrator Judy Hailey, and veteran racer Mack Tatum, teaches the fundamentals of racing and gives youths seat time in karts, simulators, and rides in two-seater cars prepared by Tatum. As the camp has grown, several Carteret County Speedway drivers have also helped out, including former camp graduates Nolan Walker and Austin Eckert, as well as two-time defending Legends champion Scotty Benford.
“It’s fun for the kids and they really seem to enjoy it,” Tatum told Short Track Scene. “There have been some kids who have come here who now race at Carteret. We had several last year that were younger kids than this year ,and they’ve migrated into Mini Cups and Bandoleros. One of the kids, Nolan Walker, was one of the first campers years ago, and he now runs Mini Stock.”
The four-day minicamp, which is held four times during the early summer months, begins with the basic introductions as well as a skills assessment before the youths get time on track. Seat time in gasoline-powered racing karts takes place initially on a smaller 1/10-mile track in the infield of Carteret County Speedway before eventually moving on to the bigger 4/10-mile track.
“We do some gold kart skill assessments, and then we go to the karts on Tuesday. It’s amazing, these younger kids are like little baby deer walking across the field, falling down, and by the last day of camp, they’re driving like Mario Andretti and it’s really amazing to see. We have some repeat customers, some years gone by, they come in, got a good skill set, good hand-eye coordination, and work with these kids developing.”
Throughout the week, the kids also learn about the history of stock car racing, the history of the track, and fundamentals of racing, including rules and safety regulations. This year, the track also added two computer-based simulators running NASCAR Racing 2003 – pitting youths against each other in virtual Late Models at Southern National Motorsports Park.
“There is a lot of prep work for it,” facility administrator Judy Hailey said. “We have 20 kids per camp that we split off into two groups. They are ages 7-12. We split them off based on age and have two groups rotating at the same time. Some go on the go-karts, some on things on the inside, such as simulators. But this is also, it’s year-round preparation. Once these camps are done for the summer, people are already asking about next year.”
While the kids racing camp started in 2022 under Bob Lowery, it is something that aligns with the vision of the late Bobby Day Watson, the founder of the track, who passed away in October 2018.
“Bobby just loved working with kids and he loved seeing kids come to his racetrack,” Hailey recalled. “From the front gate entrance, he would hand them Hot Wheels. He would also just marvel at seeing kids coming out to the racetrack, but even more so, seeing kids starting in Mini Cups, small cars on the track, and making their way on up. After Bobby left us, Bob Lowery said, ‘Let's start a race camp.’ From there, we started three years ago, and that’s where we are today, four years later.”
Watson was an advocate for youth in racing and a big supporter of Mini Tyrrell and Chase Singletary, among others, in the early years of their racing careers.
Tatum, who will be turning 60 later this year, has enjoyed his weeks at the track with the kids and teaching them to hone their skills.
“We work with these kids developing their smoothness and their techniques to be fast,” Tatum explained. “Even when the kart’s not fast, we’ve tried to instill in them that they can be fast by being smooth and clean, and they will. If they go down to Mac Daddy's (a local amusement center in Cape Carteret) and ride on the go-kart track with the other kids, they’ll wear them out doing the things we teach them, and it’s a lot of fun.”
It’s not just Tatum, Hailey, and Lowery, but an entire team of Tatum’s friends as well as others on Carteret’s staff.
“I’ve got a good staff of people,” Tatum continued. “Christy Jeffers, Dennis Bond, Carlton Sharp. Some of the kids here from the track are helping us and it’s really a lot of fun. We get a lot of return from it. We have Scotty Benford and Austin Eckert helping some. These kids have a little bit of creed with them because they know who they are and understand they’re racing here too. It’s hot but we’re doing it in the mornings and it makes for a lot of entertainment for us.”
Other parts of the camp include ride-alongs in Bomber cars prepared by Tatum and Carlton Sharp, as well as track walks and even changing tires. In multiple camps this year, Austin Eckert, a graduate of the camp, and Scotty Benford have even put on exhibition races swapping the lead back-and-forth.
“I kind of owe my racing career to the kids' camp because I would have had no idea how to get into racing without finding out about this camp and convincing my parents to go to it,” Eckert said. “Talking to some people at the racetrack who were helping out with it, they were able to help me out, and we eventually found a Bomber. We got that, set it up ourselves, got it ready for racing, and then we did a couple of races in that, and finally I was ready to move up, so we went out, bought a dirt Legend, and then been working our way up from there.”
For track owner Bob Lowery, it has been exciting to see the camp grow.
“The growth has been phenomenal, Lowery stated. “The excitement and participation have been through the roof. What started as a dream has turned into a reality with kids actually racing who have gone through the camp. That was our goal, and we have achieved it, and we’re looking to grow it in the future. Making a difference in kids' lives.”
Away from the track, Lowery runs Second Blessings Ministries, a faith-based organization helping people achieve a second chance at life through its prisoner outreach program. Second Blessings also has a music ministry and a scholarship program that puts a kid through the racing camp each year.
The four camps in 2025 were sold out, and there is already a waiting list for 2026.
Participants of the kids racing camp from years past who now compete at Carteret County Speedway also include Oliver Missner, Keagan Abrams, Michael Bivens, Nolan Walker, Liam McCallister, and Sophia Ludwig.
