After scoring a career-best fourth-place finish on his home track in Colorado last month, Mike Gallegos (No. 34 RTD Motorsports/D4D Chevrolet) is hoping for similar results on another 3/8-mile track.
He will get his chance this week when the NASCAR Camping World Series West makes its annual visit to Douglas County Speedway in Roseburg, Ore., for the Toyota/Bi-Mart Firecracker 150 on Friday, July 11. The race is slated to air live in high definition on HDNet. In addition, an enhanced replay is to air on SPEED.
“Douglas County will be similar to Colorado, where track position is important,” Gallegos said. “I need to qualify well and just be patient for a while and then go the last 50 laps.”
Gallegos, who is enjoying a solid season in his second year in the NASCAR Camping World Series West, is confident that he and the RTD Motorsports team, led by car owner and crew chief Rob Dixon, can register top-five finishes on a regular basis.
“My expectations are top-five or top-three runs,” Gallegos said. “I think we’re capable of being in the top five or top three week in and week out.”
Gallegos points to the team as the key to his success this season. ”I give all the credit to my team,” said the 25-old driver from Wheat Ridge, Colo. “Rob gives me a good car and puts good people around me. That’s point blank what it comes down to. I’ve got good people, a good car and good motors. That puts the pressure on me to perform. And I like that. I like to have all the pressure on me, as opposed to be worrying about other stuff.”
As a result of that performance, Gallegos is eighth in the championship standings – with a top-five and five top-10 finishes in seven races this season. “I attribute that to my team,” Gallegos said. “The guys have worked very hard to get where we are. I think with their knowledge and their hard work, I’ve been able to learn some things. I’ve been able to be a little more patient and not have to make things happen.”
Gallegos, who is in his fourth season as a participant in NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program, became the first driver from the program to lead a lap of competition in the NASCAR Camping World Series – running out front for 31 laps in the East-West combination race at Iowa Speedway in May.
“I’m definitely proud of that,” Gallegos said. “I would like to be the first Drive for Diversity participant to win a race at this level. Leading laps is just building blocks to winning a race. I think if we can continue to do that and lead laps, we’ll end up leading laps at the right time when it counts. That’s all due to my team. Rob has great pit strategy. It’s just a team effort and I can’t give enough credit to them. That’s what it’s all about.”
Looking down the road at his career, Gallegos would eventually like an opportunity in a national series in NASCAR. “I would like to spend another year in the NASCAR Camping World Series and then try to move up to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series or maybe even the NASCAR Nationwide Series and just see what happens,” he said.
“I can’t get too ahead of myself,” Gallegos said. “The NASCAR Camping World Series is a great learning tool for us. We go to one-mile race tracks and the competition is so good. I think it’s a great, great place to learn. I know I still have a lot to learn, but I think I’m capable of running in the top three series. I’m not going to push it. I’m just going to see what ends up happening. I’ve got to be patient and just win some races and I think it will take care of itself.”
