Story By: BEN SHELTON / ROCKET1 RACING – SHINNSTON, WV – Tim McCreadie charged from the ninth-starting spot to record a runner-up finish on Saturday evening in the 32nd annual Lucas Oil Show-Me 100 aboard his Valvoline / Seubert Calf Ranches No. 1 Rocket1 Racing / Ace Metal Works / XR1 Rocket Chassis / Durham Racing Engine Super Late Model.
McCreadie challenged race-long leader Jonathan Davenport for the top spot before ultimately settling into second on the podium in the crown jewel finale.
“I got a little free, so you’re better earlier than you want to be because you’re not carrying enough speed into turn one. If I was smarter, I should have even backed my corner up and throttled harder. I think I did like five laps in a row and then I couldn’t see JD anymore,” McCreade said following the event. “For me and the team it’s been a climb as every night we have some success, but we haven’t been able to put a full night together. A little bit of moisture in the track helped, and I have to thank (team owners) Mark Richards and Steve Baker and everybody who works on these Rockets.”
Rocket1 Racing and Tim McCreadie returned to action on Thursday as the 32nd annual Show-Me 100 weekend at Lucas Oil Speedway (Wheatland, Mo.) kicked off with Thursday’s 11th annual Cowboy Classic.
Drawing a stacked field of 63 entries for the event co-sanctioned by the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS) and the Lucas Oil Midwest LateModel Racing Association (MLRA), McCreadie drove into the $10,000-to-win opener with a sixth-to-second run in his eight-lap heat race. Lining up ninth for the 45-lap feature, Tim lost two positions to finish 11th.
On Friday evening the annual Tribute to Don and Billie Gibson took center stage with another $10,000 top prize on the line. After qualifying sixth fastest in his group McCreadie motored to a heat race win. In the main event he ran in the Top 10 throughout the 40-lap affair and was credited with an eighth-place finish.
The weekend drew to a close on Saturday night with the $50,000-to-win mega finale. Due to track conditions and approaching inclement weather, series officials reduced the finale to 80 laps. Rolling off from the ninth-starting spot Tim charged through the field and found himself in the second position in the last half of the event.
After briefly challenging Jonathan Davenport for the lead, McCreadie lost ground to the eventual victor in the closing stages of the event. He went on to finish second with Daulton Wilson, Ross Robinson, and Ricky Thornton Jr. completing the Top 5.
McCreadie sits sixth in the latest LOLMDS standings.
The team returns to the track on Tuesday, May 28 at Macon (Ill.) Speedway with a $20,000-to-win Castrol FloRacing Night in America event.