October 28, 2008 Blakesley Sports Media

Stunning debut for McKeefery in NASCAR Camping World Series West

Ran as high as fifth before settling for solid 11th place showing

Steven Blakesley / McKeefery Racing

Milpitas, Calif. - Martin McKeefery, the 21 year-old standout from Milpitas, Calif., made the most of his NASCAR Camping World Series West debut, finishing 11th on Saturday in Roseville, Calif. He ran as high as fifth in the Toyota / NAPA Autocare 150 at All American Speedway.

McKeefery, the 2007 Western States Super Modified champion, was making his first career start in the Milpitas Health & Fitness Chevrolet for Dick Midgley Racing.

When firing up for the first practice, the team discovered engine trouble and made an emergency engine change. With zero laps of practice, McKeefery timed in just half a second off of pole position, and raced forward from 20th on the grid.

"I was pretty stoked after qualifying," McKeefery said. "I gave the crew a speech after the race thanking them. They put in a lot of hours and I felt confident in their work. They were thrilled to have made the change and run this well."

McKeefery navigated traffic like a veteran in race conditions, handling the nuances of competing on the series smallest track. He also adapted quickly to the challenging double-file restarts with the 650 horsepower, 3400 pound cars.

McKeefery described the restarts as being very similar to those in his Legends days.

By lap 46 he had moved up to 15th on the track. Using the help from his spotter Reinie Naeb, he narrowly avoided a multi-car crash on lap 52.

McKeefery kept digging forward, moving up to 11th by lap 79 to join a six car battle for seventh.

With 25 laps to go McKeefery suddenly found himself sixth after great racing and perseverance.

"I looked at the scoreboard and it said the 88 was in fifth," McKeefery said. "I then realized he was right in front of me on the track."

A green-white-checkered finish was slated to wrap up the 150 lap race, and McKeefery launched forward and into the fifth position before contact from another racer sent him spinning on the final lap.

He was officially scored as the first car down a lap, in a very outstanding 11th place finish.

"I have never moved my arms to turn a steering wheel that much in a race before," McKeefery said, describing the intensity of the race. "The car wasn't great, because we didn't get to practice. I think with the setup right I could repeat this run."

McKeefery will now set his sights on the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Series West campaign, with more news to be announced soon.

October 21, 2008 Blakesley Sports Media
McKeefery readies for NASCAR Camping World Series at Roseville

21 year-old driver looking for success in Milpitas Health & Fitness Chevy
Steven Blakesley / McKeefery Racing

Milpitas, Calif. – 21 year-old Martin McKeefery of Milpitas, Calif. will compete in the season finale for the NASCAR Camping World Series West, Saturday night at All American Speedway in Roseville, Calif.

McKeefery, a world championship driver in Legends cars, will pilot the Milpitas Health & Fitness Chevrolet for Dick Midgley Racing. McKeefery previously attempted to qualify for the event at Altamont Raceway Park on September 13 but failed to qualify.

The Toyota/Napa Auto Care 150, presented by Thunder Valley Casino, will mark McKeefery’s first start in the prestigious NASCAR series. The rising star of racing was the 2007 champion of the prestigious Western States Super Modifieds.

“In a super modified the front bumper was about one foot wide,” McKeefery said in comparing a stock car to his super modified. “This race is going to be about saving the tires and keeping the body intact for the end.”

McKeefery turned about 80 laps in a testing session last Thursday. His lap times were good enough to put him 10th or 11th in the field based on the times set at the March event at Roseville.

“I feel really good about my lap times,” McKeefery said. “The car felt in control and I was comfortable. We had an in-car camera for the test and found areas to improve the setup for the race.”

Roseville is a uniquely-shaped one-third mile oval, where all four turns are different.

“Every turn has a challenge, and it’s a lot of fun for the driver,” McKeefery said. “My road course skills will definitely benefit me. Braking hard into turn one is the most challenging part of the track.”

Haulers begin arriving Friday evening, with a pair of practice sessions on Saturday afternoon. Qualifying will take place around 5 p.m. with the race slated to being just after 8 p.m. A sell-out crowd of over 4000 fans is expected to be in attendance.

September 30, 2008 Blakesley Sports Media

McKeefery earns valuable experience in Altamont debut
Successful practice session despite not qualifying for field
Steven Blakesley / McKeefery Racing

Milpitas, Calif. – Martin McKeefery, the 21 year-old racing talent from Milpitas, Calif., took to the NASCAR Camping World Series West September 13 at Altamont Raceway Park. McKeefery attempted to qualify the #09 Milpitas Health & Fitness Chevrolet for the 200 lap feature at Altamont Raceway. McKeefery gained valuable seat time in his first stint in the Dick Midgley-owned stock car.

The talented world champion driver was up against several hurdles. McKeefery has gained most of his experience in Legends and Super Modified cars, which are light-weight and drive drastically different than a NASCAR stock car. “The biggest disadvantage was limited track time,” the 2007 Western Super Modified champion said. “It took a few laps to learn the car and I was thrown out there with guys who had run thousands of laps.” McKeefery was also making his first ever drive at the tricky Altamont half-mile oval. Lastly, McKeefery was competing in one of only two races on the entire schedule in 2008 where the field was large enough to have qualifying as a factor. 33 cars took times for 28 positions.

After only recording approximately 50 laps in practice, and having to end early with battery and alternator problems, McKeefery turned his attention towards qualifying. McKeefery qualified 27th and was only two tenths shy of making the starting grid. Even though Martin was out of the main event, he still, as any good race car driver would, went up to the grandstands to sign hero cards for the fans. “I was thoroughly disappointed and thought we missed our opportunity to shine,” McKeefery said. “But it was still a good learning experience.” “We were really close to making that race,” he said. “It was just everything puttogether that made it difficult.”

Next up for Martin McKeefery is a tentative test-session at All American Speedway in Roseville, Calif. on October 16.

McKeefery hopes to gain more experience in the NASCAR Camping World equipment with an eye on possibly competing in the October 25 event at All American.

McKeefery Racing is online at www.mckeeferyracing.com

Driver Martin McKeefery would like to thank: Milpitas Health and Fitness, AngelBodyandPaint.com, Precision Transmission and Pacific Tire; all of Milpitas; TopLineApplications.com, Bayshore Driveline and Truck Equipment of San Jose; Martha’s All Natural Mixes, MysteryPartyGames.com, SimpliFun.com, McKeefery Engineering (408 472-3522 team@MckeeferyRacing.com)

By McKeefery Racing Publicity

When Martin McKeefery straps into his supermodified race car, his mind will be on one thing — performance.

A resident of Milpitas, Calif., 20-year-old McKeefery is the 2007 champion of the ASA/WSSRL supermodified series. In just his second season of his supermodified career, Martin won the championship following his 2006 Rookie of the Year honors.

The league, now called Supermodifed Racing Association, SMRA, starts its season April 5th at Madera Speedway in Madera, Calf. The series will also travel to Oregon, Utah and Idaho.

McKeefery’s biggest challenge this winter was to repair the car. A broken rear axle sent him into the wall at 140 mph while racing in the first East West Shootout in Concord, NC last November while running third in the main event. An accident of that magnitude can do a lot of damage, luckily Martin was not injured. McKeefery has rebuilt the green Riddler #27 from the frame up. “I have worked many long hours on this car to get to a level I consider raceable, I feel the car has never been as stoutly built as it is now”.

“I’ve done most of the repairs myself. I am fortunate that several businesses in Milpitas were able to help me with the sheet metal and painting.” McKeefery looks to perform better than ever at the first race and feels confident he has prepared the car to his satisfaction. “I just can’t wait to “fire-off” for the 2008 season!”

In the off season, McKeefery attended Toastmasters meetings to develop his public speaking, and classes at Ohlone Jr. College in Fremont where he is scheduled to graduate in June.

When asked if he feels some pressure on him now that he’s won a championship, he said “The pressure is on the car for this first race. I won’t feel comfortable until I take my first practice and I’m up to speed. I have a great crew lined up for this race and I won’t have to worry about setup.”

McKeefery plans to use this season to learn a bit more from the supermodified. “The super is an amazing race machine with so much to learn. I know there are still a few more lessons for me. My next goal is to race in the NASCAR Camping World development series and that’s where I’ll be putting my energy.”

This season’s sponsors include: Top Line Industrial Finishing, Angel Body and Paint auto painting, Bayshore Driveline, Hope Custom Paint, Nichols Manufacturing, Uni-Fab Industries, Milpitas Health and Fitness, WorkOut.com, MysteryPartyGames.com; ChildrensPartyGames.com; McKeefery Engineering; Hurricane Electric Internet Provider and Milpitas Precision Transmission. For information on Martin McKeefery, go to www.McKeeferyRacing.com; and on the SMRA www.SMRARacing.com.

Speedy Milpitan zooms to televised circuit

Milpitas Post Staff
Article Launched:10/13/2006
Martin McKeefery, a 19-year-old Milpitas native, began car racing at age 13 and has continued to raise his competitive level. The 2005 world champion in the Legends division strapped himself into an 800 horsepower Supermodified for 2006. The 1,900-pound cars are the fastest cars to run on the asphalt short tracks, reaching 160 miles per hour on the half mile.

In his rookie year, he has already won a main event.

The Western States Supermodified Racing League's races will be featured on Versus, (previously Outdoor Life Network). The schedule for the next five weeks is Thursdays at 2 p.m. with repeats Saturdays at 1 p.m. and Tuesdays at 11 p.m. starting Oct. 12.