from Meadowlands Media Relations

After more than three months on the sidelines, Hall of Fame driver John Campbell returns to action on Friday night at the Meadowlands.

Campbell, who last drove in a race on December 19, will have assignments behind horses in six of the 12 races on the program.

The sports all-time leading money-winning driver with $219,822,907 in purse earnings, Campbell has been resting his re-injured right elbow, initially fractured in a spill on March 23, 2003.

“The elbow feels good, and there’s no soreness right now,” said Campbell, who will be 49 on April 8. “I’m real happy with the way it’s reacted. I’ve gotten the okay from my doctors to start driving. It seems to be healing. The question will be how it reacts to a full workload.”

Campbell, a 16-time Meadowlands driving champion with 9,207 career victories, has driven in a handful of qualifying races the past two weeks. Despite a demanding physical fitness program to which he adheres, he knows it will take actual competition to get him back on top of his game.

“Physically I’m ready to go but my timing, the ability to read a race and react to what’s happening will take a weekend or two to get back,” said Campbell. “I’ve been away for three months, and I’m jumping back into the toughest driving colony in the world.

They’re all at the top of their game right now. You can drive all the qualifiers you want, but the intensity and competitiveness of a real race is at a much, much higher level.”

Campbell is planning on driving somewhat sparingly on weekdays and take on more assignments on weekends. This Friday night, his drives include Call Me Jate in the second, Mighty Mite Morgan in the third, Valiant Heart N in the sixth, AJ’s Sammy in the seventh, Brenden’s Journey in the eighth and Pure Broadway in the ninth.

“It’s not likely that I’ll be driving full cards five nights a week,” said Campbell. “I’ll drive in various races during the week and go full bore on the weekends. I’ve definitely missed driving over the past three months. It’s something I’ve done for 30 years and when you physically can’t do it, you certainly miss it. I’ve been following the races, watching replays and keeping up with entries and results. We’ve been at the track several times, too.”

One of the reasons Campbell, who returned from his elbow surgery on June 19, 2003, stopped driving in December was the inability to use the whip right-handed due to soreness and a lack of flexibility in the elbow. He feels the time off has helped alleviate that problem.

“Obviously, in the qualifiers, you don’t really use the whip a lot,” said Campbell. “I haven’t tried it hard yet, but I can certainly do it. I can handle the whip in my right hand just fine. As far as the intensity and the amount, I don’t know yet.”

In addition to a strenuous workout program during his down time, Campbell traveled to Chuck Sylvester’s Magical Acres Training Center in Chesterfield, New Jersey, to sit behind a handful of colts he and his wife Paula co-own.

“We’ve got a three-year-old trotting colt that will qualify tomorrow [Friday] named Southwind Elian,” said Campbell. “He was a nice two-year-old but didn’t finish up the season as well as we’d hoped. He certainly has shown potential, and we’re very happy with the way he’s training. As for our three two-year-olds, they’re all training well but it’s way too soon to tell. At least they’re not disasters at this point and, believe me, we’ve had some of them in the past.”

EATON ROAD KILL WILL BE RACING FOR A “WISH”

Eaton Road Kill, the leading free for all pacer in North America this winter with wins in six of his last seven starts at the Meadowlands, will be racing for more than owner Gregg Pistochini of Auburn, California.

Pistochini has pledged five percent of Eaton Road Kill’s earnings from April 10 through the first week in November or $10,000 – whichever is greater – to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

“I am donating the five percent to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Chicago Chapter, so that I can help do something for a child,” said Pistochini. “It will be through the Children’s Cancer Unit, and from April 10 in the Dan Patch [at Indiana’s Hoosier Park] up until the American National [in Chicago], whatever he makes, five percent will go to that cause. I want to be able to make a difference, a difference in the life of a child, who’ll be picked at random, who ordinarily would not have had the chance, one where the odds in life have been stacked against them.”

The Make-A-Wish Foundation [www.wish.org] grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions.

“When you see a terminally ill child, it puts things in perspective,” said Pistochini. “I have three kids of my own who are healthy, but I also realize that this is something that can be taken away at a moments notice. What could be better than to give a child who ordinarily would not be able to fulfill a dream a chance to do so?”

This year, Eaton Road Kill has won nine of 10 starts and earned $114,250. He was not nominated to many stakes, but Pistochini may add a few more to his schedule.

“I’ll have to wait and see how it goes, but I’ll likely be supplementing [him] to a few big races,” he said. “I already supplemented to the Classic Series, and he’s in the Canadian Pacing Derby. In a perfect world, he’d win about $600,000 in that period, and

I’d be able to send three kids on their dream. That would be the best scenario of all.

“My trainers are aware of what I want to do [Ed Hensley in California and Indiana and Mark Harder in New Jersey] and are pumped and motivated,” he said. “We all are. I’m fortunate enough to be in a position to make a difference. If I can put a smile on a kid’s face, even if it’s just for a little while, then it will all have been worth it.”

The six-year-old Eaton Road Kill has a career record of 35 wins, 11 seconds and nine thirds from 94 starts for earnings of $269,752.