While some drivers might dread the close racing quarters at Madera Speedway, Doug McCoun, driver of the No. 34 m.e.m. motorsports Chevrolet, considers it "home."
McCoun raced Late Models at Madera before moving up to the NASCAR Southwest Series several years ago, and he has recorded many victories on the short track. Since it is the closest track to the team's base in Castroville, CA, they also have an opportunity to test there fairly often.
However, McCoun will face two things he is not used to seeing on the race track this weekend - his brothers Bob and Jeff. Both have been racing Late Models in Madera this season and will attempt to run the Southwest Series race. Jeff was impressive in this race last year, placing a close second to Kurt Busch, and Bob scored his first Late Model win on the track just last weekend. Friends and family are looking forward to seeing the three brothers compete against each other for the first time.
Racing West: Not everyone has a chance to see all the tracks the SW Tour travels to. Can you give us an insider’s view of the track?
Doug McCoun: Madera is a well maintained, 1/3 mile oval. The track is located at the
fairgrounds, which means that there are other types of facilities such as
horse stables, RV parking, a bar-b-que area and community center on the
premises. This means that there are often other types of events going on
while we are there. The pits are located along the outside of turns one and
two and part of the backstretch. Cars enter the track through a gate on the
backstretch and exit off turn one. The infield is grassy and there are
grandstands all the way from turn four to turn one. There is also a nice
grandstand area in the pit for crew members.
RW: What does it take to win at Madera?
DM: A car that will turn in the middle of the corner. The car that turns the
best will be the fastest. It will also take a good spotter, quick reflexes
and some luck to stay out of trouble.
RW: Where (who, what) is your biggest challenge going to come from at Madera?
DM: The biggest challenge at this type of track is the tight racing quarters.
Things happen very quickly on this track and it's not uncommon to see a lot
of damaged equipment at the end of the night.
RW: What is the key to passing at this track?
DM: The key to passing at Madera is going to the outside. A lot of people think
this is a one groove track, but it's not. If the car is set up right, you
can definitely pass on the outside.
RW: When setting up the car for this track, what track is it most similar to?
DM: Probably Rocky Mountain Raceway - Salt Lake City
RW: Have you had any problems with tires? How have you managed your tire program? Do you feel running two brands is good or bad and why.
DM: We've been on Goodyears all year and we haven't had any problems with bad
tires, blown tires or anything like that. The Goodyears have been pretty
consistent all year, although they have not always been the fastest.
Personally, I would rather have one company providing tires for all teams
because it helps to level the playing field and make things more competitive.
RW: Reviewing the racing season, what was your best moment?
DM: Setting the new track record and winning the trophy dash in Salt Lake City.
RW: If there was something you could have changed or done differently this season what would it have been?
DM: I was pretty disappointed with the way things went at Pike's Peak. We
qualified bad, then got caught up in a wreck. Looking back, if we would have
had the car set up better for qualifying, we probably wouldn't have been in
the position to get involved in the accident, but who knows?
RW: Again reviewing the racing season what was the highlight of the SW Tour?
DM: Bringing NASCAR racing to New Mexico for the first time.
RW: Was there anything that could have been done to improve the series besides TV coverage?
DM: Raising the purses so they at least cover your expense of getting to the
track and racing would be nice.
RW: For the schedule next season what adjustments would you like to see?
DM: I would like to see a longer off season so we have more time to prepare and
also to enjoy the holidays. Since they have announced that we are not part
of the Copper World Classic this year, maybe that will happen. While I
enjoyed the opportunity to go to some new tracks this year, I would also not
be opposed to reducing the number of races on our schedule, and improving the
quality of the ones we do have by doing a better job of promoting them and
upping the purses. Travel is by far the biggest expenditure in our budget,
and adding more races can be a real financial burden as well as being hard on
the volunteer crew.
