The past year was a busy one away from the track for the 29-year-old El Cajon, Calif., competitor. Cameron underwent heart bypass surgery in April to repair a major vein damaged subsequent to his cancer treatment of several years ago. Wedding bells rang a month later in May, as he married his long-time girlfriend, Rachelle.

    By the end of the year, however, Cameron was ready to return to competition. "I was pretty much chomping at the bit trying to get back at it," he said. "I took the year off, and it was necessary that I take it off, but I was burning up the carpet at home to get in a race car. That was something I told myself before the heart surgery was that ‘I would be back. That won’t stop me.’ "

    Cameron – who holds numerous series records, including leading the list of career money winners with more than $900,000 – also has the most series wins at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway, with four victories. He hopes to extend that mark with another win as the series heads to Irwindale for the King Taco 200 on Saturday, May 27.

    The event – the fourth in a 12-race schedule for the NASCAR Grand National Division, AutoZone West Series – will be televised to a national audience live in high definition on HDNet. In addition, SPEED is scheduled to provide an enhanced replay at 2:30 p.m. PT on June 15.

    Cameron’s first career series victory came at Irwindale in 1999, driving his family-owned No. 12 AC Motorsports Chevrolet. He added three more Irwindale wins between 2002 and 2004, while piloting the No. 16 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet. Now he is anxious to deliver a victory to the team he joined in January, MRG Motorsports, and car owner Mark Golembeski.

    "It’s been an awesome track for us," Cameron said of the state-of-the-art Southern California facility where he also won a major post-season event in the form of the inaugural NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown race in 2003.

    "I’m extremely confident heading into this race," said Cameron, who has the most starts at Irwindale of any series driver, having raced in 12 of the 13 AutoZone West Series races there. "Any time we get into these short tracks, I love it – especially going to Irwindale."

    Part of Cameron’s optimism stems from David Gilliland’s performance the past two seasons in the MRG Motorsports entry at Irwindale – a record which also includes a victory in the 2005 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown. "The 88 car has always been real strong at Irwindale with David driving it," Cameron said. "So, I feel like we have a really good package to start out with. I’m looking forward to it. I can’t wait."

    Cameron joined the MRG team at the beginning of the season, after Gilliland departed for the NASCAR Busch Series. Although a mechanical problem relegated him to a 28^th-place finish in the season opener, Cameron has run up front in the two races since.

    The biggest adjustment he has faced since joining the team has been his communication with crew chief Mike Naake, according to Cameron. "It’s just basically getting my communication down with Mike, so that he understands what I’m saying and I understand what he’s saying," Cameron said. "It took a couple of practices and a couple of races to get that feeling where he knows when I say something he knows exactly what I mean and knows what to change on the car. That’s the biggest thing, communication."

    Although he is excited about being back in a race car this year, there is an upcoming event for Cameron and his wife that looms even larger – the birth of their first child, due early next month. "I can’t wait for that," Cameron said proudly. "I’m super excited about starting a family and everything."

    Cameron, who won the Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award after joining the series in 1998, has 13 career series wins and 11 career Budweiser Poles. He was voted Most Popular Driver in 2003 and 2004.