Tim McCreadie
Much of the talk within the Dirt Late Model world during the 2021 season centered on drivers such as Brandon Overton, Jonathan Davenport, and even NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson to some extent. And of course, those drivers were deserving of all the praise that was heaped upon them throughout the year. But while others were being talked about, another driver was somewhat quietly piecing together a very solid season that ultimately led to a national touring series championship.
Tim McCreadie may not have won any crown jewel main events, at least not this year anyway, but he did score a total of nine victories with six of those triumphs coming with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. Those wins along with a string of consistent efforts that included 27 top-5 and 32 top-10 finishes in series races ultimately resulted in the racer’s first title with this particular national tour.
The 47-year-old driver from Watertown, New York made a bit of history in 2021 as he became only the third driver, along with Scott Bloomquist and Josh Richards, to have won championships with the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series and the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. This year’s title trophy joins the WoO Late Models hardware that has adorned the driver’s trophy case since 2006. Those accomplishments simply add to a career that has delivered wins in some of the sport’s biggest events offering some of the sport’s top paydays.
Over the course of his time in racing, the World 100, the North-South 100, the Knoxville Nationals, the USA Nationals, the Silver Dollar Nationals, the Topless 100, the Prairie Dirt Classic and the Firecracker 100 are among the highly coveted events that have been conquered by the driver known as ‘T-Mac’. Add to those Late Model wins that McCreadie was the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals victor in Midget Sprint Car competition back in 2006.
Driving for Donald and Gena Bradsher’s Paylor Motorsports team, McCreadie has seemingly found a new lease on life in what is essentially the Longhorn Chassis house car as well as one of the top teams associated with Bilstein Shocks. That combination has proven to be a highly successful one working out of their home base in North Carolina under the direction of crew chief Phillip Snellen.
McCreadie took over the Lucas Oil points lead in April following his first series win of the season at Hagerstown(MD) Speedway. Both Hudson O’Neal and Jonathan Davenport stepped up to challenge at different times but midseason wins by McCreadie at Muskingum County, Port Royal and Portsmouth allowed the driver of the No. 39 machine to pull ahead by a relatively comfortable margin as the fall months approached. Then, a final series win at Ohio’s Raceway 7 in October sealed the competition’s fate.
Tim McCreadie added a LOLMDS title to the WoO Late Models championship he had earned back in 2006
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Amazing reliability combined with a driver who did not put himself or the car in difficult situations was the key to eventual success in earning a championship that paid $94,000 once the series points fund and contingency money was handed out at the season ending banquet.
This past season might not have been as flashy as the pandemic riddled 2020 campaign in which McCreadie earned wins in the Dirt Late Model Stream at Eldora Speedway, the I-80 Nationals at I-80 Speedway, and the crown jewel North-South 100 at Florence Speedway but it did result in a Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series championship to add to the lifelong achievements of one of the sport’s all-time greats.
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