Cover Car Contest Winner: Bryce's IMCA Northern Sport Modified
Photos by: Jay Watson
Bryce Campbell won our Cover Car Contest with his IMCA Northern Sport Modified and a great story. Like many of us, it all started for Bryce in the garage helping his dad, Howard Campbell, with his bright red and yellow asphalt modified. This instilled in Bryce a lifetime love of racing.
As he grew up, Bryce always wanted to race a modified like his dad but, as he says, “I just never had the opportunity to do it.” Fast forward a few years and Bryce started taking his own kids to the local track. “Once we started going to the dirt tracks, I couldn’t stay away.”
After a few seasons of watching from the stands, Bryce and family bought their own modified. The car they ended up with was built by another racer following GRT blueprints using a Metric stub. The car already had some time on it, but it was what they could afford to get started. When it came time to pick the graphics, Bryce chose to finish it in the same red and yellow color scheme as his dad’s car that he grew up wrenching on and watching from the stands. Bryce didn’t tell his dad about the tribute until he walked into the shop and saw it sitting there. “It really shocked him when he first saw it!”
It's more than just the throwback graphics that are bringing things around full circle for Bryce. After getting him started down this path years ago, Howard is now helping Bryce with his modified. Since they don’t run sealed engines, Bryce and his dad do their own engine work. They’re limited to Holley 2-barrels and 9:1 compression, but they can tear into the engine at the track to fix what’s wrong and get the car back in action. They also keep a spare in the trailer and a couple on stands back in the shop. Bryce says, “We hope we don’t need all four of them!”
And these days, there’s another generation of Campbells out there in the shop fetching tools and holding the flashlight. Bryce’s daughter Madison is great at reaching things in tight spots under the dash. And though his son Colton isn’t quite ready to tackle the weekly maintenance with real tools, he’s always sure to give the car a thorough going over with his plastic wrench set. Finally, Bryce tells us that his wife Ashley “is the brains of the operation.” The whole family helps out at the track, too, and Bryce says that they consider turning around every time they hit a track that won't allow the whole family in the pits.
We asked Bryce what comes next, and you might think he’s dreaming of moving himself into something better and faster. Instead, he’s ready to pass the torch and start spending the race budget on karts for his kids to get the next generation out on the track. In the end, that’s really what it’s all about, isn’t it? If you ask us, sharing a love of racing with your family and passing it down to the next generation is a far greater accomplishment than a room full of trophies.
Thank you, Bryce for sharing your story with us!
