He's better known as the track president at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where the Sprint Cup Series and Camping World Truck Series visit this weekend.

But Ed Clark also is known in local AMS circles as a driving champion. He talked with NASCAR.COM about his affinity for racing -- from the driver's perspective.

Q: So are you still racing legends cars?

“

I don't care what level you race on. It gives you an appreciation of what these guys do, and why they love to do it. The adrenalin rush is just unreal.

”

ED CLARK

Clark: Oh yeah. Legends and Thunder Roadsters.

Q: How long have you been racing in those series?

Clark: I ran one Goody's Dash race, back when it was the Goody's Dash Series, back at Rockingham in '79 or '80. I can't remember exactly. I know Dale Jarrett and Phil Parsons were in the race. And I finished 12th in that, mostly due to attrition.

Then about six years ago, I started up again almost by accident. We had a race with a couple of local disc jockeys. Somebody couldn't come, so I came in and drove the third car. The people who ran the program for us said, 'Why don't you just start in the back of the Masters feature, which is for people 40 and older?' That was the biggest mistake I ever made, I guess. Because I did it and loved it, and I've been doing it on and off ever since.

Q: What do you love about it so much?

Clark: I don't care what level you race on. It gives you an appreciation of what these guys do, and why they love to do it. The adrenalin rush is just unreal.

But for me, I love the racing and I love the competition. I've always played sports and I'm a competitive person. But there is another side the people don't see, and that's just the camaraderie of the people we race with. We race each other hard and don't give each other anything, but the guy will knock your fender off and then come over and help you fix it so you can come back and do it again. I really enjoy that part of it.

Q: I've read that you've gotten knocked around a little bit more than once. What was that like for you?

Clark: I've had my share of hard licks. I've had some sore backs and I remember hitting the wall so hard one time that on the right side of my mouth every tooth left its mark in my gum and my jaw. So I've had a couple really good ones, but nothing I could ever say was really where you would be worried about being seriously hurt or anything. (Continued)