An Interview with former Saloon Stockcar Mildenhall Track Championship leader 306 Daniel Parker
(interview published July 13 2016 in the lead up to the 2016 National Championship at Mildenhall on July 23/24)

Age: 21
Home Town: Norwich
Occupation: Work for family business
Family: Girlfriend Georgie
Racing Career: Raced go-karts aged 12, started Ministox aged 13 and Saloon Stockcars at 17.

We are fast approaching the National Championship weekend at Mildenhall, is this an event you are looking forward to?
It is, the big championships are something I think all the drivers look forward to because they are the ones people want to win more than anything else and there won’t be a driver out there that won’t want to win it, it’s the same with all the roof grade championships, they are the big ones of the year and a big reason why we go racing in the first place, to try and have a shot at winning one. The fact this one is at Mildenhall makes it a little more exciting for me because I really enjoy the racing at Mildenhall. I think, mainly because of its size, it’s very much a stockcar track, you don’t have time to think about anything, you have to be ‘on it’ the whole time and you never know what’s going to happen and I find that exciting. It’s another great thing about this championship, because the racing at Mildenhall is so unpredictable and you can never predict the winner so it makes any championship very open and I think because of that a lot of drivers will up their game because they feel they have a chance.

The championship is held across the weekend, do you like that format?
I like the two days of racing and think it’s good for the travelling drivers because they get some more racing but personally I would prefer the championship to be contested completely on the Saturday and then Sunday to just be another meeting. I prefer Saturday night racing under the lights, the cars look faster and the atmosphere is usually better so I would have preferred the championship to have been on the Saturday as well. The other issue for me personally, is I find when the heats and the night before the championship I have a tendency to overthink the championship a bit so that is something I need to try and avoid this year.

Does having the championship across the weekend make it a bigger challenge?
I think it does, certainly on shale because on shale the track changes with every race but the difference between and a Saturday night and a Sunday afternoon will be a lot more so there is a big challenge there because if your car is going really well on the Saturday, you still have to think about whether it is right for the Sunday because things will have changed. What I find a big challenge is if you qualify on the Saturday night but say get damage in the final heat. You can work overnight or Sunday morning and be ready for the championship but the first race is the championship and you’ve not idea if the car is completely ok or not and something like that can really get into your head and that can make a big difference so I think there is a lot to be said for getting through the last heat on the Saturday in one piece and having that momentum going into Sunday.

Are grid positions important in this race?
At most places they are but at Mildenhall it’s not so important and I do think the winner can come from anywhere on the grid. It does help at Mildenhall, if you are nearer the front there is less cars to pass but it won’t be long before the field is all round the track and everyone is battling with traffic. If you have to qualify from the last chance race, it’s not the end of the world because at least you have the consolation of knowing your car is going well on the day of the championship so it can help even though you would be starting a long way down the grid. Again things are so unpredictable at Mildenhall, you only need one big crash or pile-up and half the field can get wiped out and you never know where or when it’s going to happen so I don’t think where you start makes so much difference at Mildenhall, what makes more difference is getting through the first few laps in one piece and staying on the same lap as the leader.

Is the National Championship an especially special one for you to win?
They are all special and they all have so much history behind them, the National having more than most and when you look back at whose won it in the past there are so many top names so to be among them and have your name on that trophy would be very special.

You come into the meeting as the leader of the Mildenhall Track Championship, does that help in any way?
(Laughs) I don’t think it helps me very much to be honest but I think it can be helpful to other people. When my dad won the English Championship at Mildenhall he was winning the points at the time and I think that gave him a bit of extra confidence and that made a difference. He knew the car was quick enough and he was good enough he just had to go out there and do it but for some reason I don’t think quite the same way as he does. I’ve never gone into a race thinking I will win it, I always think I could win it if things go my way but that’s about it. I guess by winning the points at Mildenhall at the moment it makes it easier to believe you have a chance and having that self believe does matter because without it I think you have lost already. It’s funny because I can’t even remember the last time I won at Mildenhall, everything kind of blurs into one eventually but winning the points is good because it shows I’ve been consistent.

Speaking of points, you are currently second in the National Points Championship, you must be please with that?
I am, it’s been a real surprise really as that was never my intention to try and do well in the National Points and it still isn’t. My plan this year was to stick to the meetings I wanted to do and simply to try and do my best every time we race and try and make it count as best we could, always make the effort and put the work in and it does seem to be working because the results are there. I’m quite fortunate because there is more than enough racing for me locally, I’ve no desire to be travelling to the west country or Scotland on a regular basis, really I only want to do the big championships there but between Mildenhall, King’s Lynn and Skegness and a little extra there is enough for me and to be doing so well in the National Points by only doing those meetings is really good. I’ll be happy to keep doing what I’m doing to the end of the season, again I’ve no intention to suddenly start chasing points to stay second or whatever but if I can stay there until the end of the year that would be amazing. Again it does give you a big confidence boost when you can see you are doing well.

Speaking of travelling, the Saloons and yourself have visited some new tracks this year, have you enjoyed these meetings and is there anywhere else you would like to visit in the Saloons?
Yeah, I did the meetings at Ipswich, Sheffield and Stoke and I enjoyed them all and it was nice to go to some different places and tracks we don’t usually visit. I think it was good as well for the fans there because I got the impression there were a few who wither hadn’t seen the formula before or don’t see us very often and people seemed to enjoy it so that was nice and I think that is good for the formula. I’d like us to go to Birmingham. My uncle (Nigel) raced there before and I’ve raced a Ministox there and it’s a good tarmac track and I think we’d be good there as well.

How do you feel the 2016 season has been so far for the formula?
I think it’s been really good again, it’s great to see so many meetings well attended and as long as there are enough cars, and there usually is, then the racing has been excellent and it’s brilliant to still seeing more new drivers coming into the formula so I guess they’ve seen us racing and think that they want a piece of that themselves so that’s great. To have new drivers coming into a formula is always good because it shows that the racing is good because more people want to do it and it also keeps things interesting and challenging having new people to race against. I think maybe the fixtures could do with a little tweaking next year. One of the main issues for me this year was the Irish weekend. The Irish guys come and race over here quite often and I think there are a few of us who would like to return the favour but even though the Irish weekend was a solos date it was so close to the Scotland weekend that hardly anyone went. I’m not surprised, we thought about it but having no long got back from Scotland it was just too much but had the dates been more spread out then maybe we could and it would be nice to have a good weekend in Ireland, for a change.

Is there anyone you would like to thank or mention?
My dad and uncle especially but also Steve, P60, Georgie for her support with the racing, everyone at Parkers, my mum and sister and everyone else who helps. I’d also like to say a big thanks to my grandad Alan who passed away last month, that was my dad and Nigel’s dad and he’s the one who started us all in the sport. He started in grass track racing and when he got bored of that he wanted a bigger challenge and gave stockcar racing a go and that’s what started it for all of us. He always supported me when he could, especially when I was racing my Ministox and he came and watched me all the time, I also like to thank my dad and Nigel because it’s been a very difficult few weeks and they have still been there for me and my racing and I really appreciate that, especially now as I would never be able to do all this without them.