Saturday’s fast-time honors to oil pump issues. Leading the way on Sunday to losing control with three laps to go. Voluntarily ending his Wednesday night upon the completion of lap 18 because of unfavorable conditions.

Mike Marlar has certainly seen better days than what’s passed before his eyes through the midway point of Vado Speedway Park’s Rio Grande Waste Services Wild West Shootout presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts. Fortunately for Marlar, the ebbs and flows are conditional and not an indicator of anything detrimental.

“Just circumstances. That’s how it goes,” the 45-year-old said after Wednesday’s 20th-place finish, a race he ended on his terms. “Some days, you get good circumstances and some days you get bad ones. I’ve been in the wrong heat or the wrong line, or whatever. It’s one of those things. We’ll clean it up and do it again on Friday.”

Marlar’s certainly seen worse days, too. Like his usual, tranquil self, Skyline Motorsports’ new driver has a distinct peace in the midst of misfortune and when things simply aren’t going his way. On Wednesday, the 19th-running Marlar pulled his car pit side when he rode around in the same back-trotting position for seven straight laps.

“It was one lane on the bottom and I got hung on the outside on the (lap 10) restart,” Marlar said. “I got hung behind the guy that was struggling to go and I couldn’t go either out there. So I lost a bunch of spots and just pulled in. We really was just struggling to make passes.

“It was just too dry. It’s been so windy, I think they’re having a hard time making it wet. They’re definitely trying. … I’m not complaining about the track. We were in the wrong groove and got freight-trained.”

Despite that, and the aforementioned pitfalls that defined his Saturday and Sunday, Marlar has summed up his Wild West Shootout as being “been pretty good.

“The first night we got behind. The next night, we had a chance at winning. On Wednesday, we were in a tough group going out really early where it was slimy in qualifying,” Marlar said. “We didn’t qualify good. Just kind of got behind. Then in the feature there it went to the bottom and weren’t going to pass. It’s OK. It’s one those things we needed to start a little better. I’m not saying the track wasn’t anything. They still had a good race. I just started a little too far back.”

Marlar started 13th and made his way to ninth eight laps into Wednesday’s 30-lap feature. But then the caution fell and Marlar restarted via the outside. He lost four spots on the ensuing lap and six more positions on the following three.

“I needed to start on the inside and I started on the outside,” Marlar said. “It’s all good.”

If Lady Luck was a Marlar fan, the Tennessee veteran would likely have a pair of wins to this point. On Sunday, he led the 40-lap feature before Bobby Pierce stormed to the win with three laps remaining.

And on Saturday, Marlar’s car never acted the same after his quick-time honors, in both his heat race and during the 40-lap feature in which he finished sixth. In the heat race, he took off especially slow from the pole as Cade Dillard drove away too easily, leaving Marlar to believe that remnants of oil had spilt onto his tires from the oil pump issue at the end of his qualifying run.

“It was off a little bit,” Marlar said. “When we got done, I was pretty sure I had some stuff on my tires. It took two or three laps to get going in my heat. I was probably the quickest car at the end of the heat and the slowest car at the start of the heat. Maybe oil got on the tires or something. But yeah, that was a struggle.”

Marlar likes to think he’s still good for at least a win this week, though Pierce is back on top of his usual game and Longhorn Factory Team driver Brandon Sheppard is crashing the party with Friday’s arrival. After all, he has won three times at the 3/8-mile oval the previous two trips combined.

“I hope so. You never know,” Marlar said. “If all goes right, yes. The whole field is so close nowadays. Everybody’s got identical stuff. It’s hard to get ahead. You can’t have anything work against you. You don’t have to have it all go your way.

“Any little thing that goes against you hurts. Like the guy in front of me on the restart got crossed up and was getting freight-trained, and. There was nothing I could do. It was one of those things. Some days it’s your day. Some days, it ain’t. We’re about three races into 100. Ain’t no biggie.”