DUNCAN CLOSES STRONG FOR PODIUM FINISH AT IRWINDALE

Source: Vance Palm
Date: 07/06/2007

BAKERSFIELD, California – As a packed house looked on at Irwindale Raceway, the fireworks show begin with the usual “Ooohs and Aaahs.” The 4th of July race had just finished, and the crowd was enjoying the sky-lit extravaganza, yet many in the pits felt they had just seen a performance on the track that would be hard to top. Two-time NASCAR west champion, Mike Duncan had nearly pulled off a huge comeback to capture the King Taco 200, and his second-place finish was an amazing feat.

With the #16 NAPA car of Brian Ickler bearing down on back-to-back wins within four days, Duncan was racing towards the front after being in the back minutes beforehand. Darting, weaving and passing around the top teams in the west is never easy, and to do it at such an important time of the race (and season) is especially difficult. Yet, after Duncan’s top-five finish at the Southern Cal track, he hopped out and was actually a bit disappointed not to have caught Ickler. “Yeah, I thought we could have caught him with a little more time, but the #16 was better than everybody else tonight, and we couldn’t close the deal,” Duncan lamented.

After a fun and raucous photo session with Icker and third man, Eric Holmes, Duncan expressed his thoughts on the race and the team’s progress thus far by saying, “This was a good race, because we tried something new- It’s been a long time since we’ve done well at Irwindale, and to be up in the front of the pack is where I feel we should always be.” Duncan continued by explaining that, “To show you how tough this series is, (points leader) Mike David struggled all night, and he still ended up finishing fifth – nobody in this deal is ever going to give up!”

With Duncan second in the point standings, he now takes the MB Duncan Motor Sports team to Utah for a road course race on July 14th. The Lucas Oil/Ron’s Rear Ends/greenfrogroastingco.com Chevrolet will look to nab the points lead on a track that most of the west drivers haven’t seen, but Duncan seems to understand the task at hand:”The quickest team to adapt will be the team to beat, and hopefully that will be us. ” As Duncan was heading to greet a large group of Lucas Oil employees, he parted with one of his racing mantras: “We just have to keep diggin’.”

Mike Duncan was the NASCAR Grand National Division Rookie-of-the-Year in 2000. Behind the leadership of two-time Grand National Champ, Bill Sedgwick, Duncan and team won the 2004 – 2005 championships. Together, they compete full time on the Grand National West series. To learn more about Mike and follow his season, please visit www.mbduncanmotorsports.com.

See Also .:

• Mike Duncan Driver Card
• Toyota Speedway at Irwindale Track Page

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