Now seven years into his premier-class career, Jarod Vanderkooi seems poised on the verge of adding his name to the exclusive and illustrious list of Main Event winners at the Grand National Championship’s highest level.

Just four races into his first season aboard the Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750 following a three-year stint as a factory Harley-Davidson pilot, Vanderkooi enters this weekend’s OKC Mile having registered back-to-back runner-up results.

The natural assumption is that, after so many seasons clawing to get to this point, Vanderkooi is pouring every ounce of focus, effort, and energy into at last breaking through to achieve that career milestone.

That assumption would be wrong… Or at least, not entirely accurate.

“Obviously, we show up every weekend and the ultimate goal is to win,” he said, “But just being in contention week-in, week-out is what I really want to do. The wins, I think, will come. If we can get on the podium, we move on to the next race. That consistency is what we're looking for right now.

“At Volusia, our times were there, but we just didn't put the weekend together. But yeah, we moved on to Atlanta and ripped off a second, and then ripped off another one in Chicago. I'm trying to build on that. The first win is going to come when it's going to come. But if we're in contention every week, I'll be happy.”

That maturity is more reflective of his time spent in the Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle class than his actual age (still just 23). It also comes from the analogous experience of chasing his first premier-class podium.

Vanderkooi captured seven top-fives over three seasons before finally being credited with his first-ever top-three early in his fourth season. However, that honor only came after the fact, following the disqualification of presumed Atlanta ST race winner Jared Mees.

Vanderkooi wouldn’t actually take his maiden step onto the podium until after adding six additional top-fives over the course of nearly three full seasons at last year’s Progressive AFT Finale at DAYTONA.

During the bulk of that time, Vanderkooi was forced to measure his abilities -- and maintain both his sanity and confidence -- by comparing his results with those of his identically-armed Harley-Davidson teammates.

During three seasons with H-D, he was continually teamed with among the most talented and decorated riders in the sport.

While a huge fleet of fast Indians proved difficult to handle from a macro-perspective, the Ohioan was able to gauge his actual potential via intercamp comparisons.

In 2018, Vanderkooi ranked second out of three. While he was ultimately outscored by three-time Grand Slammer Sammy Halbert, he did finish some 22 points ahead of multi-time race winner Brandon Robinson.

Vanderkooi then saw Robinson jump aboard an Indian the following season and win two of his first five races with three podiums.

In 2019, the stealthily emerging star went from being outscored by Halbert by 19 points the year before to outscoring him by more than 40, while beating him head-to-head in 13 of 18 races.

Vanderkooi then took note as Halbert left for a ride on an Indian the following season and promptly claimed a victory, three podiums, and five top-fives in his first five races.

And in 2020, Vanderkooi outscored a revamped line-up of stablemates consisting of 2019 AFT Singles Champion Dalton Gautier (by 25 points) and 2016 Grand National Champion Bryan Smith (by 35 points).

That relative excellence was acknowledged by those in the know but ultimately resulted in championship rankings of just 13th, sixth, and ninth.

“Over the three years I was at Harley I had lots of different teammates... Robinson, Halbert, Smith, Dalton. They're all good riders, but it seemed throughout the course of the season, I was able to overtake them all in a championship run.

“I was... not so much biding my time, but just learning. I've been in the class for a long time, but I'm still young. Those guys have plenty of experience that I was still learning. The three years at Harley were by no means a waste. I learned a lot working with the teams, traveling the circuit, racing the different tracks, and I had a lot of fun with the Harley guys.

“But it was time to move on.”

At last on an FTR750 of his own in 2021, the precedent established by his former teammates suggested that Vanderkooi would soon be a race winner himself. But along with that long-awaited opportunity to fully prove himself also came higher expectations and significantly more pressure.

Vanderkooi did all he could to not absorb anything that might turn this positive into a negative.

“I treated it like any other year,” he said. “Right after the new year, we went to Florida and bought a camper and lived in it with my girlfriend for three months and did our normal routine. I went motocrossing with the guys, rode bicycles with them, and went to the gym. I kind of just took it like I did any other year.

“I knew going into the season that this was an opportunity I couldn't miss. (Roof Systems CEO) Jerry (Stinchfield) really stepped up and showed a lot of faith in me. But honestly, when we're traveling to the races, I don't even think about (the pressure to produce). I just go there, see my friends, have fun, and let the racing play out.

“I tend to do better with that kind of no pressure. I don’t even think about it until the hours leading up the race. I'll go check out the track, do a track walk, have some fun with my friends, but know that once I'm dressed and ready, I have a job to do.”

The overall pressure increase may have been kept in check with the removal of the heavy burden of Harley-Davidson’s history. No longer the great hope to return H-D back to its winning ways, Vanderkooi found himself going back to his roots, as he put it.

“When I showed up with the Harley team, there was a semi there -- a big old straight truck, 40 guys who jumped out and set everything up. There were four guys on hand on your bike the whole time making sure every nook and cranny is taken care of. There’s someone cooking, cleaning, doing whatever needs happening. The coolers were fully stocked at all times under the Taj Mahal tents.

“It's a little bit different now. (Crew Chief) Ben Evans and (mechanic) Jay Maloney -- they have multiple riders under the tent (to attend to). I feel that we do a very good job at it, but we're definitely stretched thin and the guys are working hard.

“But this is their fourth season of running this team, and they have a good handle of what needs to happen and when. We might get in one of those situations where we need an extra helping hand where maybe a mechanic can help another rider or whatever the case may be.

“But it's definitely different showing up these days. It's kind of bringing me back to my roots of racing, honestly. With Mission Foods and Roof Systems and HCRR, it's just a bunch of guys who enjoy the sport. They do it out of the love of it.

“Mission obviously came in huge supporting teams, supporting the series. It's awesome that they did and they are making a big impact on the sport. Roof Systems/HCRR are just guys that love the sport and want to make the dreams of a young rider like me come true. And they want to win just as bad as I do.”

For Vanderkooi to ultimately succeed in those dreams, he’s going to have to take down a number of his friends along the way. In fact, two of his very best friends are also two of the greatest obstacles standing in his way.

“I was in Briar (Bauman)’s wedding, and I'm Brandon (Robinson)'s best man. The SuperTwins class -- Bronson (Bauman) James Rispoli, (Davis) Fisher -- most of them I can just walk up to, and we'll go get dinner together. It's a tight knit group for sure.”

For many athletes, it’s simply not conceivable to separate friendship from competition so neatly. Many great motorsport rivalries are known as much for their off-the-track confrontations as they are for their on-track clashes, and countless champions have motivated themselves over the years through an overactive dislike of their adversaries.

For Vanderkooi, it’s simply not been an issue.

“Obviously, there's times where you don't like your friend taking your living away from you. You know if they beat you, they're taking money from you. That’s a fact. And definitely during the race season, we don't talk every day. We're all busy doing our own training and riding, but we keep in touch. During the offseason, we all like to hang out and train together and push one another.

“We weren't far behind a win in Chicago. We were like 1.1 seconds off Briar, but I was happy for him to break his losing streak of eight races. It's just one of those things. We're here -- we're contenders week-in and week-out, and I’m happy with that. And I was happy for Briar. He just straight up beat us; he was just the faster guy that day, so there was nothing to be mad at him about. It was just, ‘let's go back and be better next weekend.’"

Speaking of, Vanderkooi has an opportunity to double his two-race podium streak at this weekend’s OKC Mile doubleheader. That said, he readily acknowledges he’s likely facing a stiff test at Remington Park.

“Obviously, it's going to be a grueling weekend. It's usually pretty hot in OKC, and the track is one of the cushion tracks where I seem to possibly struggle at.

“But I'm going into it with positive thoughts, and we're going to do our best and put together a full weekend and make every lap. We've always raced there just one day, and it was a brutal day for sure. But now we're going to turn around and do it again the next day.

“We're going to see who's been doing their homework, training throughout the weeks, and getting their bikes prepared. I know Ben Evans has been back at the shop busting his ass. So, yeah, we'll find out who's ready for it.”