MISSISSAUGA, ON- After earning his first career Lucas Oil TQ Can-Am Midget championship in 2013, following a whirlwind back-and-forth points battle, Mack Deman didn’t have much time to enjoy the spoils of victory.
“I think we started planning our championship defence as soon as we got back to the shop on the final night of racing”, admits the personable second-generation star. “It was never our intention to win a championship just to have to give it back, we’re planning on holding on to it for a while”.
The former Karting standout, under the guidance of mentor Andy Mackareth, has become one of the club’s breakout stars, thanks to his unique brand of driving, mixing equal parts aggression and fluidity.
“Putting together a championship program doesn’t happen overnight – I can attest to that”, says Deman. “There are so many talented guys that race with us every single week, it doesn’t matter what background you have when you come into this club, as a young driver you’re going to have to make your bones and pay your dues. Because you’re going to be tested every single week”.
For Deman, the same drivers that tested him as a youngster, pushing him to better himself as a competitor, will be the ones that will make hanging on to a club championship such a challenging proposition.
“It’s going to be a whole new experience entering a season as the reigning champion. The most important thing to remember is that the points will sort themselves out. We’re hoping to compete every week as though its our last. As soon as we take that first green flag, ‘champion’ is just a label. We’re here to win races”.
In addition to Deman and teammate Adrian Stahle, the Deman-Mackareth race team will enter the season richer in experience, as open-wheel veteran Ryan Hunsinger will compete in a third team car for much of the 2014 schedule.
“The type of experience that Ryan brings to the team is unmeasurable”, says Deman. “He’ll be running about 2/3rds of the schedule, alongside Adrian and myself, in a third car. I’m looking forward to picking his brain a little bit, and just bouncing ideas of off him. Adding another teammate is going to give us twice the driver feedback, which is only going to help us grow as a unit”.
Mack Deman’s championship defence will begin in Round 1 of the Can-Am season, at Flamboro Speedway on May 10th.
Mack proudly carries marketing support from Lucas Oil, Paragon Collision Centre of Cambridge, Crown Steering & Brake, Deman Construction and All-Type Welding.
Fans can keep up with the team via their Mack Deman Racing page on Facebook, or on Twitter @MackDeman
By Spencer Lewis (@itsspencerlewis)
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