Top Ad
I DIG Radio
www.idigradio.com
Listen live to the best music from around the world!
I DIG Style
www.idigstyle.com
Learn about the latest fashion styles and more...

Epic Hagerstown Win Gives McCreadie Momentum

Written by 
Published in Racing
Sunday, 18 April 2021 10:47

HAGERSTOWN, Md. – Overcome by exhilaration and the checkered flag in hand, Tim McCreadie pumped his fists into the shower of confetti and celebratory screams Saturday night at Hagerstown Speedway.

The 47-year-old racer has won his fair share of epic races over the years, but few quite Saturday’s race at Hagerstown, where he used a last-corner pass to win the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Model Series Red Nininger Memorial at the historic half-mile over Ricky Thornton Jr.

Thornton led 49 of 50 laps, but it was McCreadie who led the circuit that mattered. It all developed too rapidly for McCreadie to fully process. But once he stepped off the roof of his No. 39 Longhorn Chassis and soaked in that victory lane setting, he started to grasp what just transpired.

“It happened so fast it was hard to know what I was doing,” said McCreadie, who hoisted that $15,000 winner’s check on the frontstretch of Hagerstown Speedway. “A lot of luck, man. I was going to go where he wasn’t. What hurt [Thornton on the last corner] is what cost him in turn one. The lapped car didn’t go in on the cushion, then he didn’t go in on the cushion, and they both sat in the middle. I kind of crabbed around the infield and got a pretty good bit of traction off [turn two].”

The win is as timely as it gets for McCreadie. Prior to Saturday, he had one win in the opening 18 races of the season. That was a $7,000-to-win DIRTcar show at Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 8. Questions about his trajectory didn’t arise, but McCreadie knew he had to make something happen soon.

With the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series championship chase intensifying in the coming weeks, McCreadie puts his name back into the conversation. On Saturday, he became the ninth winner in 11 series races this year.

He also takes a 10-point series lead in the standings over Hudson O’Neal heading into Port Royal Speedway Sunday night.

“For us to win a big show, a Lucas [Oil Late Model Dirt Series] race, the whole thing, knowing our car was good … we’re excited,” McCreadie said.

McCreadie knew he had an advantage as he lurked behind Thornton in the closing stages Saturday at Hagerstown Speedway.

“The minute he got off [the cushion], my tire was way better,” McCreadie said. “The problem is the cushion was saving a lot of them on softer tires.”

With five laps to go, Thornton showed no sign of cracking, but McCreadie stuck to his observation. Over the next two circuits, McCreadie closed the gap and a finish to remember had brewed.

On the final lap, Thornton had to make a decision: stick to the top or consume the lower part of the track, the place McCreadie made his gains.

Thornton stayed true to the top, where he got pinned behind a lapped car, which parted the seas for McCreadie to generate the run he needed on the bottom. McCreadie had the advantage as the two raced down the backstretch. He sailed it into the last corner and up the banking to finish off Thornton.

“When I went into [turn] three, I saw him for a second, then I didn’t see him,” McCreadie said, describing his thought process when he drove it in hard on the bottom. “I thought, ‘Well, if I [stayed on the bottom] then he’s going to roll right around me.’ So I just carried it up to the cushion, then came off the cushion and hung a left down the straightaway, just in case he was back under me.”

Thornton, meanwhile, hoped to join Tyler Erb and Hudson O’Neal as the only repeat winners of the year. He started second and raced by polesitter Dylan Yoder on the initial start for the lead.

The first 26 laps went green, before a car failure for fourth-running Matt Cosner brought out the only caution. From there, Thornton maintained a second lead and navigated traffic without much trouble.

But when he caught Devin Moran in lapped traffic, everything changed.

“I could never get close enough to slide Devin,” Thornton said. “I wouldn’t say that cost me the win. I got to him, then I couldn’t get by him. I couldn’t get by him. So I started riding behind him. I mean, I was trying to get by. Just wasn’t good enough.”

Once victory lane mellowed, McCreadie tried recalling if he had any victories that produced this kind of finish. A few modified triumphs came to mind, but none that drew any specifics.

“You can’t remember them all,” McCreadie said.

But will he remember Saturday and all the ecstasy that came with it?

“Oh my God,” McCreadie said. “Of course.”

Read 382 times

Soccer

Breaking down the Premier League title race, and why Arsenal could edge Man City

Breaking down the Premier League title race, and why Arsenal could edge Man City

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsHollywood might struggle to match what looks like being an edge-of-...

Sources: Giroud finalizing DP deal with LAFC

Sources: Giroud finalizing DP deal with LAFC

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsMLS side LAFC is finalizing a deal with AC Milan and France interna...

Purce out for Olympics, NWSL season with ACL

Purce out for Olympics, NWSL season with ACL

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsNJ/NY Gotham FC and United States women's national team winger Midg...

2026 FIFA


2028 LOS ANGELES OLYMPIC

UEFA

Basketball

MPJ defends brother amid betting investigation

MPJ defends brother amid betting investigation

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsDenver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. said Wednesday night that...

Rockets, with play-in in sight, win 10th straight

Rockets, with play-in in sight, win 10th straight

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsOKLAHOMA CITY -- Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, front offic...

Baseball

Athletics' Andújar has surgery, could miss month

Athletics' Andújar has surgery, could miss month

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsOAKLAND, Calif. -- Athletics outfielder Miguel Andujar had surgery...

Boone to Soto: Don't defer to Yankees veterans

Boone to Soto: Don't defer to Yankees veterans

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsOn the eve of the New York Yankees' season opener at Minute Maid Pa...

Sports Leagues

  • FIFA

    Fédération Internationale de Football Association
  • NBA

    National Basketball Association
  • ATP

    Association of Tennis Professionals
  • MLB

    Major League Baseball
  • ITTF

    International Table Tennis Federation
  • NFL

    Nactional Football Leagues
  • FISB

    Federation Internationale de Speedball

About Us

I Dig® is a leading global brand that makes it more enjoyable to surf the internet, conduct transactions and access, share, and create information.  Today I Dig® attracts millions of users every month.r

 

Phone: (800) 737. 6040
Fax: (800) 825 5558
Website: www.idig.com
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Affiliated