NASCAR Whelen All-American Series: Dan McKeage
Beech Ridge Motor Speedway Race Report
SCARBOROUGH, Maine – Dan McKeage of Gorham, Maine, finished 10th in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Pro Series 40 at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, Maine, on Saturday, August 17. McKeage started 12th in the field of 18 when the field was set by handicap in the absence of a qualifying race, and he fought heavy traffic for track position in the first half of the event. Past the halfway point of the feature, the car’s handling tightened up dramatically to halt McKeage’s forward progress. With two races remaining, McKeage sits just 14 points out of the division lead in pursuit of his second career Pro Series championship.
WHO: Dan McKeage, Gorham, Maine
TEAM: Naughty 40 Racing No. 40 Top Gun Construction Chevrolet
CREW CHIEF: Dan Bubar, Windham, Maine
WHAT: NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Pro Series 40
WHERE: Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Scarborough, Maine (.333-mile oval)
STARTED: 12th
FINISHED: 10th
NEXT RACE: August 24, NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Pro Series 40, Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Scarborough, Maine (.333-mile oval)
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DAN, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CAR?
The car was great at the beginning. Earlier in the day in practice, at the start of the race, it was probably as good of a car as I’ve had in a long time. In the feature, the right rear tire shrunk, and the left rear tire grew. You need stagger to make these things turn, and we didn’t end up with very much.
HAVE YOU HAD THIS PROBLEM BEFORE SINCE THE TRACK SWITCHED TO HOOSIER TIRES?
No. Not too much at all, actually. It’s not like we were running a lot of air in the left or real low (air pressure) in the rights – it kind of caught us by surprise. It’s not the finish we needed, that’s for sure.
HOW FRUSTRATING IS IT RACING IN HEAVY TRAFFIC?
Extremely. When there’s a lane there and they take up more than their share of the lane, and you get a run on them they just run you off the track. As long as they’re racing everybody like that, that’s cool, I guess.
DO YOU NEED TO CHANGE YOUR APPROACH FOR THE LAST TWO RACES?
I think (the No. 24 has) been getting more aggressive the last 10 weeks, but that’s really not my style. I’m not going to win it by crashing people. We’ll just keep finishing the best we can and see what happens.