Mike Duncan At
Altamont
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Duncan's Two-year Reign as West Champ Ends
with All-Star Showdown
Bakersfield, CA - Mike Duncan climbed out of his
banged up Lucas Oil/Ron's Rear Ends/Greenfrogroastingco.com Chevrolet
in Altamont last Sunday, and his crew, fans and sponsors were there to
congratulate him on many fronts.
First, there were the immediate kudos for not only surviving an
incredibly unfortunate afternoon in Northern Cal - Duncan was hit from
behind, sideways and nearly head on - but for finishing on the lead lap
and taking a seventh place finish. "Amazing . . . incredible . .
. an awesome job!" These were just some of the superlatives being
heaped on Duncan, as everyone at Altamont watched the 2004/2005 Grand
National Division, West Series champion deal with the unusual amount of
bad luck that came his way.
Secondly, as Eric Holmes was being named the 2006 west champ, team
owners, drivers, NASCAR offiicials, fans, vendors and anybody else
within earshot of Duncan came over to congratulate him on two great
years as the series champion. As a two-year, back-to-back champ,
Mike Duncan was an exceptional spokesperson for NASCAR's top division
in the west. This was not lost on any of the top NASCAR officials
working at Altamont. Stated one NASCAR official, "Mike Duncan is
the epitome of what a racing champion should be: Composed, competitive,
well-spoken and always trying to make the series the best possible
series it can be - for the drivers, the teams, the sponsors and the
fans".
As Duncan obliged the nice comments, he could already be heard talking
about this weekend's Toyota All-star Showdown and what it was going to
take to win it. "Well, I hope our team was able to learn whatever
we could from (a day like) today for Irwindale next weekend", Duncan
said, as he headed for a hot shower in his hauler.
Dealing with a nasty head/chest cold, Duncan stopped long enough to hug
his crew and thank them for an oustanding effort all season long.
Duncan explains, "I have so much respect for any team's crew that is
committed to winning like my guys are . . .we've enjoyed two great
years on top, and we know what it feels like to enjoy the perks of
being champions of this series; like parking in the first slot at the
tracks, going to New York ( NASCAR Champions Weekend), the awards party
in Vegas (West Series) and the overall feeling of being involved in the
series as a championship team . . . it's been a great experience."
Yet, even as Duncan reflects on the past, two championship seasons,
there was no disguising his intense competitive drive heading into this
weekend's Toyota Allstar Showdown. " If we can go down to
Irwindale and win the Showdown . . .well, that's what every diver wants
to win, and we feel that our compilation of notes at Irwindale -
combined with not having the rabbit's foot all of this season -
hopefully we can finish the year off with this big win."
The 2006 season finished with Duncan third in points, but the season
did have a major bright spot: Duncan's huge September win at California
Speedway. The Relocate Here 200 was Duncan's first superspeedway
win of his career, and it was the obvious highlite of a year that
seemed to never really take off. As Duncan stated, "It takes so
many variables to win championships, and this season was an example of
that with Eric's (Holmes) team. They were fast at every track,
his support system was in place and they had a bit of good luck from
time to time . . . he's a great champion."
It takes one to know one.
Go to Mike's website - www.mbduncanmotorsports.com
to see all the photos from the races of 2006, and you can watch
exculsive footage of Mike's California Speedway win by visiting KTRacingNASCAR.com
Source: Vance Palm
MB Duncan Motor Sports
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