Deac McCaskill stuck in second at South Boston Speedway

By Matt Fuchs
Danville Register & Bee
Published: July 3, 2008

Deac McCaskill isn’t one to wish bad luck on anyone. Heaven knows he’s had his share.

But, if a few things happen to go his way and McCaskill winds up in the winner’s circle at South Boston Speedway, he’ll take it.

And it will be about time, too.

Finishing in second place in each of the last three Late Model races at SoBo, McCaskill has been knocking on the door for some time now. Yet, while beating out a stocked field in tonight’s Bailey’s 200 that will likely include two former national and track champions in Philip Morris and Peyton Sellers will be tough, McCaskill still feels it’s only a matter of time before he is able to take home a checkered flag.

After all, he can only stomach so many more second-place finishes.

“The way we’ve been running lately, I hope a win won’t be all that far off,” McCaskill said.

A two-time track champion at Southern National Speedway, McCaskill made the move to SoBo for bigger prize money and better competition. He had driven at the Halifax County track before, and even won a few races there. So what did it matter that McCaskill had hit a patch of rough luck last season, when his car seemed to fall apart on him at every opportunity? It was supposed to be a new year and a fresh start at South Boston. The sky was the limit and McCaskill’s thoughts were set on adding another Late Model championship to his resume.

And then he unloaded for his first race back.

After all of the preseason testing and practices, McCaskill started seventh and fought his way up to third in a 19-car field. But he never found a way to stick there as his car wavered between too tight and too loose — an inconsistency that saddled the 30-year-old Raleigh, N.C., native with an eighth-place finish.

“It was a shock,” McCaskill said. “The first race was pretty embarrassing.”

But it was nothing compared to what happened next.

Missing a week of racing at South Boston McCaskill made it back for the twin 75-lap Late Model events on May 10, only to wind up 23rd and 26th in 27-car fields.

That same vehicle inconsistency McCaskill had fought in that first race of the season was still bugging him, and it wasn’t going away.

“They’ve been working hard,” division points leader Justin Johnson said of McCaskill and his crew. “They’ve been practicing quite a bit, and probably throwing everything that they have at that car.”

But, Johnson said, the problem was likely in the setup on McCaskill’s No. 08. Johnson believes that McCaskill was still relying too much on what had worked in the higher-banking corners of Southern National — a five-degree difference from the 12-degree turns at South Boston.

“It just took a while to get it figured out. It took a lot of testing to get used to,” McCaskill said. “I just got a certain feel on a racecar that I like. With the changes on the car I couldn’t get that feel.”

But persistence paid off, and eventually McCaskill found a spring and shock combination that delivered results. He came back with a fourth-place finish the next week, and has reeled off three straight second-place finishes since.

“I’m really comfortable now,” McCaskill said. “The confidence unloading at the track has picked up. Now, if we can qualify better…”

That, in a nutshell, is what McCaskill feels is still holding him back from finally finishing first — and has kept him frustratingly close in second. His car handles well enough and consistently enough that he was able to run down Johnson from a half-a-straightaway behind two weeks ago. But because he is off in qualifying, starting sixth or seventh and then having to push his way to the front leaves McCaskill’s No. 08 spent by the time it gets there. He’s used up too much to make a move on the leader. Starting second or third will make a world of difference, McCaskill figures.

Now he just has to figure out how to get it done. And therein lies the mystery.

“I don’t know,” McCaskill said when asked what he needs to tweak. “That’s a good question.

“Just the speed. The car is driving good, but we just need a little more speed out of the car.”

McCaskill hopes he’ll find that extra ounce of speed by the time qualifying begins for tonight’s 7 p.m. race. And if he can, second-place finishes might soon be a thing of the past, and he might be able to claw his way back into a championship picture that currently consists of Johnson and Wayne Ramsey.

“Anything can happen, this is racing. Two bad nights on their part could help me out,” McCaskill said.

“But I don’t want to wish any bad luck. I know what that’s like. … I’ll just back my door up and if we finish top-5 (in the points) and win a couple of races it’ll be a good year.”

In other words, second place might not be so bad after all.