TIVERTON, ON- Following two straight Sauble Speedway track championships in 2012 and 2013, longtime frontrunner Scott McTeer entered the 2014 season mindful that a hiatus would likely greet him at the end of the Summer.
McTeer weathered a frustrating – and at times disastrous – 2014 campaign, gritting out a top-3 finish on the final night of competition on August 30th to finish 2nd in the final Ltd. Late Model championship points.
“This isn’t the end for this team, this is just a timeout”, explained McTeer. “I’m going to be taking on a new venture at work. It’s going to require a lot of time and money that I wouldn’t be able to invest while racing fulltime”
“We haven’t exactly come to a conclusion on how long we’re going to take a break for, but I can promise you I’m not finished”, continued the soft-spoken veteran. “I’ve been doing this for so long, I don’t think I’ll ever really be finished”
The Tiverton, ON driver bids farewell to a 2014 season that saw his M3 Motorsports team visit victory lane 3 times, in between battling on-track incidents and mechanical breakdowns.
“Any time you can pick up three wins in a field like ours, it’s a good year”, admitted McTeer. “We just struggled more than we would have liked to. We started out the season experimenting with a few different setup combinations that didn’t pan out the way we would have liked. Between the setup battles and the mechanical issues, this felt like the longest season we’ve ever had”
Despite their difficulties this season, McTeer is quick to note just how thankful he is for his family-run operation.
“I’m more appreciative of my team now than I was when we won our championships”, said McTeer. “We don’t have a huge team, most nights it’s just myself, my brother-in-law, my Dad and my girlfriend”
“There were plenty of nights where they could have turned around and quit, and I wouldn’t have blamed them. But, instead, they were right there with me putting in the hours in the shop to try and turn our year around. They have no idea how much that meant to me”
When the topic of his break from competition arose, McTeer admitted his plans are still very much in the air.
“The car’s for sale. For the right offer we’d be happy to gear someone up to go racing this weekend”, said the two-time champion. “We’re not having a fire sale, though. If the car doesn’t sell, we’ll keep it and run some of the bigger shows next year”
“Our points racing days are over for a little while. This break is about spending some more time at home with family, and dedicating myself to my career. We’re going to go and concentrate on real life before we can come back and have some fun again”
“I’ll be back before they even have a chance to miss me that much”, closed McTeer with a smile.
Scott McTeer’s 2014 season would not have been possible without marketing support from Lake Huron Rod & Gun, www.SecretsOfTuscany.com, McGee Motors Ltd. and Carey Optical.
Fans are encouraged to keep up with Scott and the rest of the team via the Scott McTeer M3 Motorsports page on Facebook.
By Spencer Lewis (@itsspencerlewis)
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