Heading into the Oct. 6 race at Douglas County Speedway in Roseburg, Ore., 20-year-old Martin McKeefery has a 21-point lead over Kirk Wartman in the American Speed Association/Western States Supermodified Racing League.
A resident of Milpitas, Calif., McKeefery knows his lead is not that large and has his focus set on finishing the race as his priority.
“Twenty-one points is not that far ahead,” McKeefery said. “I will think about points every day.
“But the day of the race I will race as I always do - take opportunities and create open areas for me to advance. And most of all, keep aware of where Kirk Wartman is and base how hard I need to race in order to secure the championship.”
McKeefery has not raced on the three-eights mile track in Roseburg, but is learning to adjust when facing new asphalt.
“This division has taught me how to adapt to tracks I haven’t been at before, so it’s no different than any other instance,” he said.
“But I always like to survey the track and look for abnormalities the track may have, like bumps, ruts, etc.”
McKeefery admits he has struggled to improve his qualifying efforts, but learns each time he heads out to set his mark.
“There are so many little tricks that are needed to qualify fast. We have learned many of them, but we are still learning. Our goal is to always qualify at our best.”
An additional goal of McKeefery’s was to use his first year to learn. He set his sights high for the second year.
“The second year our goal is to dominate and win the championship,” McKeefery said. “And to maintain the lead, I must finish the last race and do what we always do - try to win.”
