Abingdon 18-year-old makes Camping World Series debut

It’s going to be pretty hard to get away with this one.

While his classmates hit the books, Abingdon High School senior Caleb Roark was shooting around Martinsville Speedway at 90 mph – they don’t give excused absences for racing.

“Sometimes, when we go racing, my dad can find me a doctor’s note, but we did a thing on TV and so everyone knew,” Roark said.

After spinning out on his first lap of practice in his Camping World Series debut, the rest of his day was mostly uneventful as the 18-year-old tried to log some laps before today’s Kroger 250.

“I felt a little silly going out, hitting the curb and spinning out on my very first lap,” Roark said. “After that, I felt that I was getting used to my truck. It’s a learning experience for me right now. The truck is good enough and the team is good enough for me to run in the top five, but I just need some more experience.”

This weekend will be his first attempt in a NASCAR-sanctioned race and his first behind the wheel of a race truck.

In the final practice, Roark was at the bottom of the pack in 33rd, a second off the pace, but wasn’t worried about race day. Mostly, his team used Saturday as a test run to get used to his No. 7 Chevy.

On his first lap at the oldest track on the NASCAR schedule, Roark did as countless others had before him, clipped the curb.

“I was told to stay down on the race track, which you are supposed to do, I was scuffing my tires and I did the one thing you are supposed to not do which is hit the curb,” Roark said. “Once you hit it you are gone.”

Veteran crew chief Butch Miller said it was an easy mistake to make.

“It’s a rookie thing,” Miller said. “He’s just never been on a new set of tires that are stone cold. But, I can tell you, I’m 20 years into my career and I wrecked a car doing the same thing.”

Only 36 trucks showed up to Martinsville for the race, meaning Roark is guaranteed a starting spot despite his qualifying run. With a spot secured, the team was allowed to focus on its race trim.

“That’s big for him,” Miller said. “We didn’t even get out there to do a mock run because of that last wreck. We can work strictly on his racing which is really good.”

Before coming to Martinsville, Roark tested at Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, N.C. The track features a curb similar to Martinsville but that’s as far as the similarities go.

“It made a little difference,” Roark said. “It’s more of a short oval compared to this paper clip.”