LUCAMA, N.C. :: Brenden Queen had a very simple goal entering the 2016 season.

“To be honest with you, going into the year, we just wanted to win a race,” Queen said about his expectations for the year.  “Anything plus that was a bonus.”

The 18-year-old Chesapeake, Virginia native achieved that goal in April, winning the season opener at East Carolina Motor Speedway for his first career Late Model victory. Since then, he has added three more wins, including a sweep of East Carolina’s July 9 Late Model doubleheader.

“We’ve won four, so it’s been a good year, no matter what else happens the rest of the year,” Queen said. “It’s been more than I ever could have asked for.”

Queen was already a competitive Late Model competitor, finishing third in the 2015 points standings at Langley Speedway behind Greg Edwards and Danny Edwards, Jr.  Queen also scored top-ten finishes in three of Late Model racing’s biggest races last year, finishing eighth in the Hampton Heat 200 at Langley, sixth at the UNOH Battle at the Beach at Myrtle Beach Speedway, and tenth in the Thanksgiving All-Star Classic at Southern National Motorsports Park.

Now, Queen has improved from contender to winner. Those wins have propelled him to the top of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series (NWAAS) North Carolina State Championship hunt, as well as fourth place in the NWAAS National Championship.

“They say if you win, the points take care of themselves,” Queen said. “It’s really cool to see our name up that high in the nation. I never would have expected to even have a chance at it, or be leading the state [of North Carolina] right now.”

“Things are coming together,” Queen continued. “This whole team is really coming together this year. Everybody’s working good, and I’m very pleased with the season.”

With that success, Queen has adjusted his goals for 2016 and set his sights on East Carolina’s track championship – the site of his four wins. Doing so – while continuing to run at Southern National – should put him in prime position for the North Carolina State Championship.

“We’re really going after that championship at East Carolina,” said Queen. “We’re leading the points there. Luckily enough, they’ve been getting a full car count. John Vick’s been working hard with us to make sure we have a full car count. Same with Southern National, which adds up to Carolina points.”

That focus on the North Carolina points brought Queen to Southern National Motorsports Park on Saturday night despite potential rain in the forecast. The twin 40-lap features for the Late Models, which were washed out for the evening, promised two points-paying events for Queen in the state title hunt.

“Whenever Carolina ain’t racing, then of course if Virginia’s running, we’ll run up there,” Queen said. “We just don’t want to miss out a race in Carolina when they’re having one. That’s why we came down here today in the rain, we can’t afford to miss it.”

The 2016 season has also been an eventful one for Queen. During a May race at East Carolina, Queen and Thomas Burbage battled fiercely on the race track, with Queen winning the first twin race of the evening before contact between the two led to a Burbage spin in the second race.

During the next race at East Carolina, Queen and Burbage were again battling for the win late in a race when they made contact, triggering a massive accident which led to serious burns for fellow competitor Bradley McCaskill.

Queen regrets that the incident led to McCaskill’s injuries, and downplays any notion of a rivalry or feud between him and Burbage.

“I don’t hold grudges,” Queen said. “Yes, me and the nine car [driven by Burbage], we had a thing happen the week before. But everybody jumps the gun and starts saying, ‘Oh, they just tried to wreck each other because of the week before.’ Little do they know, we shook hands after qualifying that night and he congratulated me on the pole.”

Queen adds that he thinks some of the tension resulted from being an “outsider,” a young driver coming to East Carolina from Virginia working to earn respect against a new group of competitors.

“The only thing that I hate is that Bradley got hurt in that wreck,” Queen said. “I’ve watched videos of it. From what I see, it’s a racing deal. And even looking at video, I don’t see how you can put blame on me for it. A lot of it, I think, comes to I’m a young kid going to a place that’s not my home track. We’re competitive. Langley’s our home track – trust me, we’d be running there if it was open, but we don’t have that opportunity.”

“I think they’re starting to respect me a little bit, because they know I’ve won and I’m there. But at the same time, there’s that little bit of hatred because I’m there.”

Ultimately, Queen attributes the incident to hard racing for a victory, something he won’t shy away from doing.

“We’re just racers going for the win,” Queen said. “You’re not there to make friends. You bring your friends with you. You’re there to win the race. I’d be letting my team down if I didn’t go after the win.”

“You learn a lot about give and take and patience, but you’re there to win the race. If I can get in a position to win a race for my team, I owe it to them.