Eddie Groome drove cars to victory lane, crew-chiefed for winning racers and now fields a late model for Samuel Bryant. The two have won one race before, and they look to repeat the feat this Saturday on their home turf of Natural Bridge Speedway, where the Save A Lot American All-Star Series Presented by PPM Racing Products will roll into town.
While Eddie could still race, he now prefers to just own cars. Why is that? It boils down to his competitive spirit.
“I’d like to race,” Eddie, of Waynesboro, Virginia, said. “But I don’t see myself as good as I need to be. These cars are so good now. I was an okay racer. I was fortunate to win some races, but I don’t want to go out and be a field filler.”
Eddie might have something to offer other than steering race cars. In the 2010s, he crew-chiefed for Walker Arthur. With him, Eddie traveled all across the country. Their journeys took them from Fairbury Speedway in Illinois to Bedford Speedway in Pennsylvania to Southern Raceway in Florida, and many other dirt ovals Walker would randomly haul to. Between his time with Walker, crewing for another Virginia favorite, Booper Bare, and growing up with his father, Jack Groome, fielding race cars, Eddie got a good education in the sport.
These days, he uses that experience to help driver Samuel Bryant as a car owner. Eddie teamed up with Samuel because he liked what he saw in the young, up-and-coming racer.
“He’s a quiet kid, but he’s not there to just ride,” Eddie said. “He’s going to search, trying to find a better line or more speed. Samuel’s aggressive. You can’t make a passive driver aggressive, but if you’ve got a kid who’s a bit fearless and aggressive you can tame that. When he first got into my car, he put himself in a few bad situations, but made it through most of them. Now he’s a couple years older, he’s really good about managing equipment.”
This Saturday, September 26, the Save A Lot American All-Star Series Presented by PPM Racing Products, heads to Groome’s and Bryant’s home track, Natural Bridge Speedway. There they hope to use all that experience gained against some of the toughest locals and most competitive pro late model racers in the region.
Outside Groove Note of Transparency: Outside Groove is a sponsor of the American All-Star Series. The American All-Star Series paid for the production of this article. The content is not subject to the approval of the American All-Star Series.
The Outside Groove Executive Editor has covered motorsports since 2000. His many awards include the 2019 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Jim Hunter Writer of the Year and the 2013 Russ Catlin Award for Excellence in Motorsports Journalism.
