Tim McCreadie talks dirt late model finances

Tim McCreadie: “I tried to get out of debt from where I was at”

Tim McCreadie has won a lot of high dollar races in a short period of time. Simultaneously, he leads the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series drivers’ standings as well as the earnings list.

Big 2017 Wins:
Apr 8 – BadBoy 98 ($20,000)
Jul 22 – Silver Dollar Nationals ($53,000)
Aug 12 – North/South 100 ($50,000)

Tim McCreadie at Florence Speedway 3157 — Tim McCreadie at Florence Speedway

Did you go on a spending spree of any kind?

“No no,” Tim McCreadie says with a laugh.

“I tried to get out of debt from where I was at. From not winning a lot of big races,” McCreadie tells RacingNews.co from his Sweetners Plus hauler

Really? “Yeah, it goes fast if you have some bad years.”

“One bad year usually wipes away two good ones. It’s tough to live. A perfect example, you can take a 20% pay cut from one year to the next, if you run bad. It’s a pretty significant pay cut, in anybody’s life.”

I don’t think you’re the one paying the bills on the racing side? Am I wrong?

“Yeah, but I pay my own bills,” Tim McCreadie talks life.

“I still have to live. I got a wife and two kids, you know what I mean?”

Tim McCreadie talks to his son after winning the North/South 100

“If you’re making, whatever you make a year. You cut that, say you take 30% off of that. It might be a little bit harder to live than it was the year before. And it can happen at any time.”

“Now, granted, it can go the other way too. But, it’s a lot harder to go the other way. It’s a lot easier to lose money from one year to the next.”

How does it work?

Is there bonuses for running well, from the team owner?

“Not for me. I mean I just drive for a percentage,” Tim McCreadie explains his dirt late model contract.

“When we run better, I make more money.”

Tim McCreadie at Cherokee Speedway 6911 — Tim McCreadie at Cherokee Speedway

What about sponsorship?

Do you get a cut of that?

“I mean, I’m part of this team. But, the money that we get, we usually use toward to race team.”

What’s clicked recently?

“We’ve been good all year. It’s just a matter of things going our way. We’ve just been good. Longhorn does a great job with the cars.”

“It’s just about trying to make the right decisions throughout the night. I got not complaints, everything’s been good.”

Excited about any specific races coming up?

“I try just as hard, for every race I go to.”

Tim McCreadie leads the LOLMDS by only 15 points. Two races remain on the schedule. This weekend, the dirt late model tour heads to Pittsburgh’s PA Motor Speedway.