6/22/2023
Owosso Speedway
Cameron Dodson and the Fastest Lap at Owosso
The Owosso Speedway has always been known as a fierce, fast track that allows for multiple racing grooves. With fresh asphalt being laid down for the first time in 34 years, the 2023 racing season is expected to see many of the longstanding track records to be broken.
The fastest driver in the history of the 3/8s mile Owosso Speedway is the late Cameron Dodson. Dodson had exploded onto the Sprint car scene at just 16 years old, running with the old Hoosier Outlaw Sprint Series in his home state of Indiana. Dodson was quick almost straight out of the gate, in a division that often times seemed to lend itself to the experience of veterans like Gary and Tom Fedewa, Jason Blonde, Hank Lower, and Jeff Bloom.
After getting his feet wet in 2004, Dodson teamed with car owner Dick Meyers in the prolific 50M machine. Dodson and the yellow and red winged sprinter had a dominant season following with the Auto Value Super Sprints that year, winning 11 of the 17 events on their schedule and walking away with the Championship.
So, when the tour arrived at the Owosso Speedway in August of 2005, by that point it was not a stretch to say Dodson was the favorite going into the race. As the Sprint car faithful know, the racing is fun, but qualifying is also a big part of the show, as the winged warriors would attack the pavement with reckless abandon looking to set the fastest possible lap.
Common sense would dictate, at least at most tracks, the inside of the track would be close to fastest because it is the shortest distance around the track.A lot of the sprint cars would run Owosso 1-2 grooves off of the bottom thanks to the progressive banking in the turns.
When Dodson went out onto the track, anything resembling “common sense” was thrown out the window. The native Hoosier would run his laps as high up in the corners as he could, a spectacle never seen before or since at the Big O. After two blistering laps at full song, the dust settled and the numbers illuminated on the scoreboard in turn two:
12.565.
107 miles per hour.
That not only set the Winged Sprint car record, but the overall record for the fastest qualifying lap ever turned on the 3/8s mile, which still stands to this day.
Cameron Dodson would have a turbulent career going forward. He would race with the USAC Silver Crown Series at 18 years old, winning three times on the tour. He made four starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series as well, but a serious car accident would derail his career for several years. In 2019 he returned to USAC Silver Crown competition in a one off appearance at Indianapolis Raceway Park, as well as a one off return to sprint cars at Baer Field Motorsports Park in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Unfortunately Dodson would pass away in 2021 at just 33 years old, before he could have the chance to make his full time return to motorsports.
The Sprint cars will have two attempts to try to eclipse Dodson’s record in 2023 as the Must See Racing Sprint Cars invade Owosso on June 24th and over the Labor Day weekend on September 2nd.
Photo Credit: Auto Value Super Sprints
Article Credit: Chris Fobbe
Submitted By: Chris Fobbe