Racing has always been about family for Cody Cambensy.
That‘s why he‘ll be stepping away from running full-time next year, so he can teach members of his own young family the ins of the sport.
Until then, though, Cambensy has unfinished business at his home track.
Cambensy currently has a 15 point lead in the Thunder Trucks division at Tucson Speedway — a NASCAR-sanctioned 0.38-mile paved oval track in Tucson, Arizona. He‘s never won a track championship in three years racing at the track where he grew up going to races, and he‘d like to go out on top.
“It would be something huge for me,” Cambensy said. “I grew up racing at the kart track next door and every Saturday night we‘d come over and watch the races at Tucson Speedway. I always dreamt of being able to win a championship there and competing, but racing took me down a different path.”
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Cambensy ran sprint cars and dirt modifieds when he was younger before making the transition to pavement. In 2010, he ran a NASCAR West Series race at Phoenix Raceway and a NASCAR Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway, and moved to North Carolina to pursue racing before moving back home and getting back in a dirt car.
Three years ago, car owners Brad and JoAnn Corneliusen reached out and asked if Cambensy would be interested in racing pavement again for them in the truck series at Tucson. The group came up with a good deal that made sense for the driver and his young and growing family.
“For me the biggest thing was, with me racing sprint cars I didn‘t really have the time to travel as much as anymore,” Cambensy said. “Family meant a lot to me and what they were able to offer as far as me being able to keep racing and keep my family with me at all times pretty much made sense so that‘s why we decided to stick around Tucson and race for them.”
Cambensy‘s dad was a big race fan and “kind of a gear head,” he said. When Cambensy was four years old his dad put him in a go-kart for the first time.
Now with a 4-year-old son himself, Cambensy is again passing down the love of the sport. Easton Cambensy, who will turn 5 in December, has been practicing racing quarter midgets and will run a full season next year.
“He got stung by the racing bug. He loves everything about it,” Cambensy said.
Cambensy decided this would be his last full-time season racing so he can focus on helping Easton.
“It‘s a big dream come true for me,” he said. “The biggest thing for me is growing up I was always racing with my family. It was always a family deal and no matter what we would always stick together and travel together and race together, and then now that I‘m married and have my own family we kind of do the same thing.
“Knowing that my son loves it as much as I do and that he‘s going to start racing, it‘s got me more excited, honestly, to go help him than to actually be racing myself… Just seeing him get all excited when he goes fast and gets a good lap time, it makes it all worth it.”
Tucson Speedway Points Standings
Until he can go racing with his son, Cambensy has one more goal in mind for 2020. He has four wins and has finished in the top five in all six races at Tucson this season. With one race left in a tight points battle, he knows if he can finish where they‘ve been finishing all year they should have a shot at the track championship.
“We‘re going to do our homework over the next couple weeks to make sure we have everything we need to make it happen,” he said.
Even though he knows all he needs is a good finish to lock up the track title, his goal is of course to win the final race and leave no doubt.
A win would be a perfect way to go out on top.
“Knowing that this will probably be my last full-time season racing and contending for a championship, to go out with one and finally get one, it would mean the world to me,” he said.
Racing will return to Tucson Speedway on October 3 with Super Late Models, Pro Stocks, Outlaw Late Models, Legends, Bandolero Bandits, Bandolero Outlaws. The Thunder Trucks will return to Tucson Speedway on October 17.