PASS Sportsman Series: Dan McKeage
White Mountain Motorsports Park Race Report
NORTH WOODSTOCK, N.H. – Dan McKeage of Gorham, Maine, finished fourth in the rain-shortened PASS Sportsman 50 at White Mountain Motorsports Park in North Woodstock, N.H., on Sunday, August 4. The race was halted after 26 laps by rain and never restarted, marking the second straight series event to be shortened by weather. McKeage started eighth in the Naughty 40 Racing No. 40 Top Gun Construction/J.P. & Family Roofing Chevrolet and worked quickly into the Top-5. He made a great save on Lap 14 when he was turned sideways from behind, correcting the sliding car and soldiering on. McKeage was closing on third place before the rain hit.
WHO: Dan McKeage, Gorham, Maine
TEAM: Naughty 40 Racing No. 40 Top Gun Construction/J.P. & Family Roofing Chevrolet
WHAT: PASS Sportsman Series 75
WHERE: Oxford Plains Speedway, Oxford, Maine (.375-mile oval)
STARTED: 8th
FINISHED: 4th
NEXT RACE: September 15, PASS Sportsman Series 100, Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Scarborough, Maine (.333-mile oval)
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DAN, DID YOU HAVE A CAR CAPABLE OF WINNING IF THE RACE HAD BEEN RESTARTED?
No. We took on too much damage in the first 25 laps. But if they kept banging around in front of us, we might have been able to get another spot or two.
Definitely, the outside wasn’t the place to be. Usually they race really hard here and they race good on the top, but for some reason – maybe it’s the track, maybe it’s that we had a couple of weeks off – but the guys really weren’t giving anybody a lot of room on the top. It doesn’t make for good racing. Whoever was on the bottom was just sliding up into the guy on the top. It makes for horrible racing, really.
WAS THE CAR BETTER AS THE DAY WENT ON?
Definitely. In practice it went good. We made changes every time out, and it got better and better. We’ve struggled with it everywhere this year, and we really haven’t had it quite where we wanted to. It’s been worse here than at other places, so I wasn’t afraid to throw a bunch of stuff at it. That helped.
Right before the feature, we went up big on the front spring and the car really responded. Early on in the race, it was really good as long as I was on the bottom. It’s really tough to pass here, but it really was good.
WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE NO. 44 CAR?
I guess it goes back to last year when we were here. I was running on the top and I was second on a restart, and he was one of seven guys that ran into the side of me to get by. I restarted ninth, and on the way back up through he was one of the guys I didn’t show that much respect to. I think he expected me to.
I guess this go-round was more of the same deal. He didn’t think I gave him that much room out of (Turn) four – which I probably didn’t – but I thought he was racing the 32 pretty rough. I expected more of the same when I got to him. As soon as I got clear of him, he was all up in the back of me. I guess everybody thought it was a neat slide job, so there wasn’t that much harm. He didn’t wreck. I didn’t wreck. So, I guess that was alright.
Later on in the race, he was in front of me. He went from the third groove to the bottom groove and I was there and he clipped my fender. I don’t know how he wants to blame me for that. It’s not like I ran into the back of him. He was clearly way up the track and came all the way three grooves down. I got on the brakes and he got squirrely. I thought he saved it, but I guess he’s still upset. We’ll move onto the next race and see what happens from there.