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NASCAR West Champ Mike Duncan Sees the
Glass Half-Full after Phoenix
Bakersfield, CA – Defending NASCAR Grand National West Champion, Mike
Duncan had every reason to sound gloomy after his unlucky, 13th place
finish in the AutoZone West Series United Rentals 125 at Phoenix
International Raceway. But he wasn’t.
Considering the fact(s) that he hadn’t sat in his race car since that
harrowing wreck at the Toyota All Star Showdown last November -
combined with new tires and his history of tough luck at Phoenix,
Duncan probably could have sulked and everyone would have
understood. However, such wasn’t the case as the ultra-successful
driver of the #9 Lucas Oil/Ron’s Rear Ends/Greenfrogroastingco.com
Chevrolet arrived back at the hauler.
As Duncan climbed out of his car, the first motion he made was to greet
and hug a group of life-long friends who had flown in from Oklahoma to
support him and his team. The next move was to meet with the
mother of a rookie driver who raced well, looks up to Duncan and was
thrilled to be racing against him. Duncan seemed long removed
from the rough day he’d just had as he respectfully confirmed that this
mom should be, “. . . very proud of your boy. He’s going to do
well.” Visibly moved by Duncan’s warmth, this mother then wished
Mike a happy birthday and walked away wearing a big smile.
The champion birthday boy then headed over to a competitor’s wife and
congratulated her on their beautiful new baby. Next he was off to thank
a sponsor and then he hopped into the hauler and simply stated,
“Welcome to Phoenix!” The facetious remark ignited an uproarious
laugh from his crew, cementing the fact that they had endured another
unlucky day in the desert. Although MB Duncan Motor Sports
finished second in their last race at PIR in 2005, the overall
experiences at this beautiful track have been mostly disappointing, and
this race was no different. As Mike aptly states, “I love this
track, but I can’t seem to get a win here!”
After qualifying fourth on a very cool track, Duncan started the race
by quickly pouncing on pole sitter, Spencer Clark. The crowd was
immediately thrilled to watch Duncan and Clark go door-to-door for
numerous laps, with Duncan inching out the lead by lap 10.
Suddenly the car wasn’t the same, and Duncan immediately informed
legendary Crew Chief, Bill Sedgwick. Ultimately, it was a broken
rocker arm that hampered the Chevrolet, and after another stroke of bad
luck involving a wreck, Duncan and his team seemed almost relieved when
he crossed the finish line. “Actually, things could have been a
lot worse, “Duncan explained. “It’s very possible for a broken
part like that to do major damage to the engine, and that’s when things
get real expensive.”
As the crew packed up to leave, the telling story of the weekend was in
full view as Duncan thanked his crew members that were flying home to
various destinations. Having been presented a birthday cake and
singing from his team, Duncan expressed his genuine appreciation by
saying, “This means a whole lot from you guys. You’re like family
to me. It’s been a great weekend, and we’ll get ‘em next
race.” Coming from this intense competitor who had a tough day at
the track, Mike Duncan obviously sees the glass half full in life.
Source: Vance Palm
MB
Duncan Motor Sports
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