NASCAR Miller Lite 50: Dan McKeage
Beech Ridge Motor Speedway Race Report
SCARBOROUGH, Maine – Dan McKeage of Gorham, Maine, finished second in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Miller Lite 50 at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, Maine, on Friday, July 5. McKeage started 11th in the field and rolled all the way to the runner-up position without the benefit of a yellow flag in the caution-free Pro Series feature event. Unofficially, McKeage regained the division point lead with his third Top-5 finish of the season in the Naughty Racing No. 40 Top Gun Construction Chevrolet. He tried to reel in the race winner over the final 10 laps, but ran out of time as the leaders came up on lapped cars in the closing circuits.
WHO: Dan McKeage, Gorham, Maine
CREW CHIEF: Dan Bubar, Windham, Maine
TEAM: Naughty 40 Racing No. 40 Top Gun Construction Chevrolet
WHAT: NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Miller Lite 50
WHERE: Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Scarborough, Maine (.333-mile oval)
STARTED: 11th
FINISHED: 2nd
NEXT RACE: July 13, NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Pro Series 40, Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Scarborough, Maine (.333-mile oval)
CURRENT POINTS POSITION: 1st
********
DAN, HOW GOOD DID THIS FEEL AFTER STRUGGLING FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS?
This is good. I knew we were missing something, but it wasn’t something that needed drastic changes or anything like that. We just had to find what we were missing the first couple of weeks, and it’s obvious it’s back on track. I just wish we would have found it a couple weeks ago.
That’s what’s so great about auto racing, thought – one week, you run and it’s a mess, and the next week you come back and you run great. You start wondering why you couldn’t do what you did last week or trying to figure out what you can do different. It’s what I love about the sport.
WOULD A CAUTION PERIOD HAVE HELPED YOU OUT AT ALL?
To come from where we were, I think a caution might have helped. It might have cooled things down a little bit. I had a whole bunch of sweat going, I know that – (spotter Greg Emerson) was calling halfway, and I was like, ‘Man, I could wipe the sweat from my eyes right now.’ I don’t know. (Race winner Tyler King) was going really good.
If we’d gotten one, it would have made it really interesting. It would have been the Firecracker 50, for sure.
YOU HAD A REALLY GOOD BATTLE GOING FOR SECOND-PLACE.
We were racing super-hard, but super-clean. I followed (Bobby Timmons) up through at the beginning, but then he jumped right up to the top. I knew if I was going to get by him, I was going to have to get by him early. After a few laps, I was fortunate to get by him when the lapped cars played just right.
I guess everything worked out perfect for us.