Consistency is not the same thing as a win in any driver's book, but without it Tyler Millwood would not be the points leader in the Ultimate Southeast Late Model series -- and without it, his first win would likely be much further away.

On Thursday night, Millwood finished eighth in the Scorcher at Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tennessee, which was his 10th top 10 in 14 races this season.

"It feels good," Millwood said of his No. 1 spot in the standings. "I hate that we're the points leader, and we haven't gotten a win yet. We're there. We're all over the top five every weekend. But being the points leader is awesome; I would just like to get that first win."

Millwood got off to a slow start this season with no top fives and three results in the mid-teens in the first four races. Beginning with the Rattlesnake Rumble at Rome (Georgia) Speedway, he started accumulating top fives -- including seven coming in his last 10 attempts.

"Those top fives are awesome," Millwood said. "We got a fourth at Virginia where Scott won, Dale McDowell and Earl Pearson ran second and third, and I ran fourth. That was an excellent top five for me. It felt like a win in my book because those guys are top-notch race car drivers."

With a third-place finish July 29 at Dixie Speedway in Woodstock, Georgia, Millwood is closing in on that elusive first victory.

"I expect a win the way it's looking right now," he said. "But as long as we keep our consistency going, I'm just looking forward to more top fives. I'd love to get a win, but with it getting so close to the end of the championship here I would like to just keep logging top fives so we can win the championship."

Millwood knows great setups do not magically appear to a driver. Every racer in the field has gone through some sort of mentorship, and Chris Madden is whom Millwood credits with his turnaround.

"Chris Madden gives me a lot of insight and helps out a lot setup wise with my race car," Millwood said. "It's just hard work getting after it and learning the race car and figuring out what we need to do to be better. We just need to get our race car just a little bit better."

Millwood has another chance to use those notes and hopefully garner his first win Friday night as the series rolls onto Crossville (Tennessee) Speedway for the second show of a two-night stand.