Counters
Coming into 2009, Dave Daniels wasn't even thinking about the Mini Modified championship at Old Dominion Speedway. But he surprised everyone and snagged it.
All season, Daniels was easily the most consistent driver in the division, racking up 13 top fives, including three wins, with an average finish 2.15. He was also the first rookie to win the championship in Mini Stocks.
"It felt really good to win it," said the 18-year-old Manassas driver. "After a lot of DNFs in Legends, we just wanted to run consistently and finish races in Mini Mods."
And after the first four races, in which Daniels had a fourth and three thirds, he never finished outside of the top two. It was an amazing run of nine straight finishes in the top two.
"We weren't always the fastest car," Daniels said. "We were outclassed by three cars this year as far as I'm concerned. But we were always consistent and always finished races, and that's how we won the championship."
Daniels said that after the first four races, he gained confidence. But he credited the team's success to his dad, Mike Daniels, who spent countless hours setting up their racecar.
"We knew that the time and the studying and the note-taking that he did would eventually give us a good setup," Daniels said. "After four or five races, we found a setup that worked for us. After that, we just fine-tuned it and never stopped trying to make it better."
Daniels' first win came May 30. But it wasn't his most satisfying because hot shoe Paul Green blew a motor and Scotty Gore didn't run that day.
Daniels' Aug. 1 win was his most satisfying; he had to fight for that one. Gore was leading the field until late in the race when a caution came out. Daniels was able to pass him on the restart, using a move he learned playing video games.
"It was a textbook move," Daniels said. "I was so happy that night because I outfoxed Scotty Gore, who'd interested me in racing in Mini Mods in the first place."
Daniels' worst race was the opener when he finished fourth after rear-end problems. After that, he never ran outside the top three.
He came close to missing one race when he had motor problems during practice in July. When Mike Carte, Keith Riley and Paul Green worked on Daniels' racecar, trying to get it ready for the feature, he saw the generosity of his fellow competitors. After Riley finally fixed the car, Daniels grabbed a second in the race.
Daniels said the hardest part of the season was getting himself ready to race again after his horrific Legends wreck in 2008. After bouncing his car end over end numerous times, he bruised his lung and his ribs, sprained his arm and tore tendons in his neck and lower back, which still bothers him. He suffered a concussion as well.
"The wreck was traumatic," Daniels said. "So getting the confidence to get back in a racecar the first time and to push it to its limits was tough because the last time I did that, I wound up in the hospital."
But Daniels recovered his mojo and had an impressive championship season. Now, he's thinking about a repeat in 2010.