CHARLOTTE, NC :: Veteran racer Matt McCall will make his third start of 2013 at Myrtle Beach Speedway on Sunday in the 21st running of the Myrtle Beach 400. McCall has run races this season at South Boston Speedway and Hickory Motor Speedway but is often kept away from Late Model Stock Car racing by his full time job as a Race Engineer at Richard Childress Racing.
McCall has around 50-60 victories in the Late Model Stock Car ranks. He’s expecting to add one more, saying he wouldn’t go to Myrtle Beach if he didn’t think he could win.
“We don’t race often but we always expect to win when we do,” McCall said. “Fortunately, I’ve got a decent amount of friends and customers that do race weekly that keep me in the loop. I think it’d be cool to win. It’s definitely a place you’d like to say you’ve got a win at. I’ve been fortunate to win at a lot of races.”
An old rivalry could be reignited when McCall races. In the 2011 Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300, Lee Pulliam scored the victory with a bump-and-run on McCall on the final lap. McCall says he is looking forward to racing Pulliam again.
“As for racing Lee, it’ll be cool,” McCall remarked. “I don’t think he’s ever raced there before. He wins all the time at Motor Mile and South Boston though.”
McCall says the shorter race distance won’t change his approach to the race.
“You still have to be in the right position,” McCall stated. “It’s a crazy race. You try to save but can’t save so much. I don’t think you can go from 43rd to win like FDJ. The cars are so good now. I’ll approach it the same way I have the few times I’ve run it – save track position and save the car.”
McCall also spoke about how he got his start in racing and, weighing in on another debate, spoke about the athleticism of racing as well as his martial arts background.
“I grew up running stock cars,” McCall commented. “I think it makes the transition a little bit easier. I’ll drive anything I can to make laps. My parents own a boat business and they had a mechanic that raced go karts and I got a go kart, started racing them for seven or eight years and thne got a Street Stock. I moved up from there. As for martial arts, my dad’s always been involved in martial arts. I don’t go as much as I used to go but I still go play every once in a while.”
McCall also weighed in on comments made by former Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb. On Friday night, McNabb made the statement that six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson was “not an athlete” on Fox Sports 1’s flagship sports news program, Fox Sports Live.
“Whatever McNabb said, I don’t think there’s a professional in the highest level that could drive a racecar and not think it’s a strenuous job,” McCall explained. “Longer races, the mental capacity along with the physicals can be interesting. I ran the truck race at Bristol. I stay in good shape and it wasn’t an easy task. I think it’s funny when people comment about that stuff like that, I don’t know how people in another sport can talk about another sport when they’re not involved in it. At least some of the guys in racing have played football and basketball.”
McCall also weighed in on the state of Late Model Stock Car racing, speaking about tracks being dominated by a single driver, the expectations drivers have and the dilemma racetracks face with race distances.
“It seems like, if you have a track that offers money, it doesn’t do anything because you have the five cars that win every week. When someone moves up and can’t get it done right away, they leave the sport. Shorter races make for harder racing. Longer races are hard to keep your attention span if you’re watching as a fan.”
McCall stated that the drivers usually prefer longer races but that shorter races tend to excite the fans more.
McCall is supported by Black’s Tire and Wheel, Denver Marine, 3V Performance, MX3 and Davis Farms.
RACE22.com will have coverage of the Myrtle Beach 400 all weekend with Five Star RaceCar Bodies Live Coverage presented by JRi Shocks kicking off trackside from Myrtle Beach Speedway on Friday afternoon. The 200-lap Late Model Stock Car race in the 21st Annual Myrtle Beach 400 will go green on Sunday afternoon.
