Speedway president uninjured in plane accident

Martinsville Speedway president Clay Campbell. (Getty Images)
Martinsville Speedway president Clay Campbell. (Getty Images)

A private plane carrying seven people, including Martinsville Speedway president Clay Campbell, suffered severe damage when it made a belly landing at an airport in Virginia early Sunday morning.  None of the seven people onboard were injured.

The Beechcraft King Air B200 was returning from a race in Ohio just after midnight. As the pilot touched down at the Blue Ridge Regional Airport in Henry County, the landing gear wasn’t down and the aircraft skidded down the runway stopping in the grass at the end. Campbell, a pilot himself, was in the co-pilot seat but wasn’t in control of the aircraft.

“It didn’t take long to figure out what the problem was,” Campbell told local media. “Sparks and the scraping noise, obviously the gear wasn’t where it needed to be and we started sliding and it all happened so fast you really don’t have time to get scared about it.” MORE>>>

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.