Cedar Lake Speedway
Landing USA Nationals pole energizes McCreadie
By Kevin Kovac
World of Outlaws Late Model Series
Tim McCreadie talks about his pole dash victory. (chrisburback.com)
NEW RICHMOND, Wis. (Aug. 2) — After two straight years of disappointing performances in Cedar Lake Speedway’s USA Nationals, Tim McCreadie thrust himself squarely into the mix for the crown-jewel event’s $50,000 top prize Friday with a powerful qualifying night performance. | Slideshow | Video | Friday's preliminary results
McCreadie, 39, of Watertown, N.Y., won the six-lap dash for Friday night’s six heat winners, earning him the pole position starting spot in Saturday night’s 26th annual USA Nationals finale. It will mark the first time he has taken the green flag in the 100-lap World of Outlaws Late Model Series event with serious designs on victory since he started fifth in the 2010 edition.
“This is a lot more fun than going into the race the way we did the last two years,” said McCreadie, who registered dismal finishes of 25th in 2011 and 26th in 2012 after using WoO LMS points provisionals to start both events. “I always feel like if we’re close anywhere, we can make small adjustments to get the car right — but it’s been a few years since we’ve even been close here. We’ve just struggled so bad at this race, so it feels good to know we’ve got a car that should give us a chance this year.”
McCreadie won Friday’s fourth 15-lap heat race by 3.882 seconds — the largest margin of any heat winner — and then roared off the outside pole to take the lead from polesitter Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., at the start of the dash. The 2006 WoO LMS champion pulled away from Richards during the short sprint, beating the national tour’s points leader to the finish line by several lengths.
Richards, who outdueled Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., to win the fifth heat, settled for a runner-up finish in the dash, giving him the second starting spot in the USA Nationals. He will bid for victory in his first USA Nationals start since winning the event in 2011.
A.J. Diemel of Elk Mound, Wis., finished third in the dash, putting the home-state favorite on the inside of the second row for the start of the USA Nationals. Rick Eckert of York, Pa., 16-year-old Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., and Chad Simpson of Mount Vernon, Iowa, finished in positions 4-6 and will start the 100-lapper from those positions.
McCreadie has certainly enjoyed success at Cedar Lake in the past. He’s started the USA Nationals feature seven times, with a career-best finish of third in 2009 on his resume. The former big-block Modified regular also has two fourth-place finishes (’05, ’07), a 12th-place run in 2010 (after a flat tire and overheating engine knocked him from contention) and a 20th-place finish in 2008 (broke a right-rear wheel while leading).
With Friday night’s racing surface — which was drier, and slower, than Thursday evening’s tacky, fast track — suiting both his Sweeteners Plus Warrior and his own taste, McCreadie is hopeful that similar conditions will prevail for Saturday night’s century grind.
“I feel like if it gets faster we might not be as good as Josh (Richards) and maybe Brandon Sheppard (Thursday night’s WoO LMS winner),” said McCreadie, who won a preliminary feature during the 2010 USA Nationals weekend. “But if it can slow down to in between the conditions on Thursday night and tonight, I think we’re gonna be OK.”
A winner of four WoO races this season, McCreadie is energized by his strong qualifying effort.
“Whenever you can go to an event like this and be relevant it’s awesome,” McCreadie said. “This race is it. We might be lacking a few guys here and there, but this field is the cream of the crop for Late Model drivers. And this is one of the biggest races we have all year long, so when you can be competitive it’s great.
“I don’t know if we’re gonna pull it off or not (on Saturday), but I feel like we can.”
