McDermott had memorable season

Ed Turner News & Messenger
Published: March 13, 2008

Danielle McDermott held her own at Motor Mile Speedway in 2007.

McDermott, a 17-year-old Manassas driver, came in 12th in points in Limited Sportsman at the Southwest Virginia track last season, despite missing one race. She also picked up rookie of the year honors and took home four top 10s in a field that routinely had 23 to 25 cars.

"I really liked my season at Motor Mile," said McDermott, who ran three times at ODS in 2007, collecting a seventh and eighth in Grand Stocks and an eighth in a Late Model race. "We started off the season just learning the track. Once I got to the end of the season, I'd really gotten to know the track and the drivers and did a lot better."

McDermott faced a tough start of her season at Motor Mile running at a bigger, faster track than she was used to at ODS.

"I didn't realize how big a difference it would make with all those cars and how many wrecks we would go through," she said. "Since every race was only 50 laps, you had a short amount of time to do what you wanted to do. And the competition was just so hard. But it was a lot of fun."

In fact, McDermott's first top 10 was special since there was so many cars each race. By the first week in June, she'd become discouraged because she hadn't come up with that good of a finish. But things changed that night when she grabbed her first top 10.

"My first top 10 was a big deal for me just because it meant that I could actually do it," she said. "I'd gotten discouraged and didn't know if I was ready for Motor Mile. But that finish was just what I need to keep pushing through. Up until then, I wasn't doing as well as I'd hope to do."

Motor Mile is four-tenths of a mile and is much faster going into the turns than ODS. So it took McDermott a little time to charge into the corners, especially into turn one.

"Old Dominion is a fast track," she said. "But at Motor Mile if you're going into turn one, it's really fast. It scared me at first. But I got used to it."

McDermott's best race was a seventh on Sept. 8. She started 18th in a 21-car field but fought her way to a top 10 during the 50-lap race.

"The seventh place was so exciting because I dodged a lot of wrecks that happened right in front of me," she said. "When I got out of the car, I felt like I'd really done a good job. A lot of times before, I'd gotten out of the car and there was always something that I wished I'd done. But that time, I really felt like I'd accomplished a lot."

McDermott said her crew was really proud of that finish. Her crew chief had worked especially hard to get her car right that day.

"It was one of those days when my car was just good," she said. "I avoided all the wrecks and worked my way up. That was my favorite race of the season."

McDermott will be returning to Motor Mile this season, along with her sister, Amanda.