CHARLOTTE, NC :: Matt McCall doesn’t get to race much because of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series commitments but, when he does, he tries to make the most of it.

McCall, who has been tapped to replace Keith Rodden as the crew chief for 2010 Daytona 500 champion Jamie McMurray, will be racing in Sunday’s Myrtle Beach 400 in what could be his final Myrtle Beach appearance.  Once a regular competitor in the Late Model Stock Car world, McCall has cut back on the amount he’s been able to race due to his commitments as an engineer for Richard Childress Racing.

“This will be the last Myrtle Beach chance for as long as I’m Cup racing,” McCall said.  “There will be three off weekends next year.  I’ll run those off weekends I’m sure because I don’t know what else to do.”

McCall’s hoping to make the most of this Myrtle Beach appearance by scoring the victory in Sunday’s race.

“I feel like we’ll have a chance if I can get it close.  We’ll give it a try, that’s for sure.  If I don’t think I’m going to win, I don’t go somewhere.  Hopefully we’re far enough ahead that we can show up and be competitive out of the truck if we don’t get a lot of practice.”

With fewer laps in this year’s race, McCall says all he can do on Sunday is strategize, let the race come to him and see how it all plays out.

“It’ll be good.  I don’t have much concern.  Just how that race plays out, they eliminated 50 laps last year so it’s a little more of a chess match.  It’s harder, in my opinion, to chess match all the other people who race the track.”

McCall doesn’t feel disadvantaged heading into this weekend’s Myrtle Beach 400 given his experience and his expertise.  Earlier this season, in his most recent Late Model appearance during the summer, McCall scored a win at Southern National Motorsports Park.

“Sometimes, when you’ve only raced a few times a year, if you run 30 and win 10, now you run three and win one,” McCall explained.  “Percentage wise, it’s the same but the numbers are not there.  It always helps to win a race.  I’ve been Late Model racing a long time so it’s making sure we have what we need in the car to get it right and that’s the biggest challenge of running fewer races.”

McCall doesn’t feel his lack of track time is a big problem but he does acknowledge the parity in Late Model Stock Car racing and how much better the equipment has got across the board for his competition.

“I don’t think it’s a huge problem.  For me, it’s the biggest thing because, to win the race, that’s what it boils down to.  Everyone has good stuff now.  The technology in the circle gets tighter and tighter.  It gets mro competitive but harder if you don’t do it every week.  The more you race, the more chance you have at learning something every week.  I race every week but it’s different circumstances.  Barely any of it is the same.”

With his new gig as crew chief for Jamie McMurray at Chip Ganassi Racing and an adjustment to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule which pushes the championship deciding race at Homestead-Miami Speedway back a week, McCall likely won’t be able to race at Martinsville in the MDCU 300 or at Myrtle Beach in the Myrtle Beach 400 anytime soon.

A victory on Sunday would be the icing on the cake for McCall’s career-defining week.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This interview was conducted before the announcement that Matt McCall was joining Chip Ganassi Racing as the Crew Chief for Jamie McMurray.

UPDATE: Meredith McCall tweeted earlier that Matt McCall would likely not be racing in the Myrtle Beach 400: