From WoO/Kevin Kovac

CONCORD, NC -January 29, 2007- Validation for a spectacular season was delivered to Tim McCreadie on Saturday night.

The reigning 360 OTC World of Outlaws Late Model Series champion received the Eastern Motorsport Press Association's 2006 Al Holbert Memorial National Driver of the Year Award - an honor he took very seriously.

"You look at all the big names that have won this award, and the feeling I get from it is no different than when I won the World of Outlaws championship," an awed McCreadie said after accepting a trophy bestowed recently on such racing superstars as Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr., John Force and Martin Truex Jr. "You don't get much better than being up there as a World of Outlaws champion with only Scott Bloomquist and Billy Moyer, but this is just as unbelievable."

McCreadie, 32, of Watertown, N.Y., was honored during Saturday night's annual EMPA Hall of Fame Dinner in Trevose, Pa., which highlighted a weekend-long convention that was attended by over 100 of the media organization's members.

The significance of winning an award selected by media types was not lost on McCreadie.

"To have the press look at you and, at the end of the day, acknowledge what you've done is the ultimate sign of respect from them," said McCreadie, whose 2006 campaign also included an attention-grabbing victory in January's Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in Tulsa, Okla. "The press doesn't vote on favorites. They vote on what they see, right there in black and white, so it's just amazing to be picked by them.

"It's hard to get on everybody's good side no matter what you do, and sometimes I'm a little negative," he continued. "But the press has always been great to me, and I thank them for that. I think they've judged me by what I've done on the track and not by my last name."

Yes, Timmy Mac does have a famous last name in the dirt-track racing world. He's the son of 'Barefoot' Bob McCreadie, a legendary DIRT Modified driver who won EMPA's Al Holbert Memorial Driver of the Year Award in 1994 following a huge 47-victory season.

"The topper of this whole night is that my Dad won this same award a few years back," said McCreadie, who refers to his father as his "racing hero." "This might be the first big thing he's done that I've also been able to do."

EMPA also recognized the accomplishments of McCreadie's father on Saturday night, inducting the veteran star into the organization's Hall of Fame. Bob, who turned 56 on Jan. 19, was unable to attend the dinner because he's still recovering from serious injuries he suffered in a motorcycle accident seven months ago, so Tim spoke on his behalf.

"This shows how much he's done in his career and I'm proud to accept his induction into the Hall of Fame," Tim said of his father, who recently underwent additional corrective surgery on the broken leg he suffered in the motorcycle crash. "He wishes he could've been here, but he's just not real comfortable traveling a long distance right now."

McCreadie did get to share a table at the EMPA dinner with his father's longtime DIRT Modified friend and rival Alan Johnson, who was on hand to accept EMPA's 2006 Richie Evans Memorial Northeast Driver of the Year Award. McCreadie grew up watching his father and Johnson battle for checkered flags, so he had a unique connection to his fellow award winner.

"I've been racing for more than 10 years now, and I'm still star-struck when I walk in here and see Alan Johnson sitting next to me," said McCreadie, who joined J.J. Yeley (2003) as the only short-track drivers to win the Holbert Award since EMPA began handing out separate National and Northeast Driver of the Year trophies in 1997. "I feel just like I did when I was 10 or 12 years old, sitting in the stands and watching him race against my Dad."

With the off-season banquet circuit complete, McCreadie is now focused on one of the biggest years of his career. He'll take a shot at entering the pavement stock car racing world while continuing to chase glory on dirt with the 360 OTC World of Outlaws Late Model Series.

After getting a chance last year to test Busch Series-type cars for NASCAR titan Richard Childress Racing (RCR) and as part of the General Motors Driver Development Program, McCreadie has signed a contract as a development driver with RCR. The official announcement from RCR came on Jan. 23 when the annual NASCAR Nextel Cup Media Tour stopped at RCR headquarters in Welcome, N.C., for a press luncheon.

McCreadie, who was on hand at the RCR shop for the media event, has plans to gain asphalt experience by entering at least four NASCAR Grand National West Series races this season in a car that RCR will supply to Jim Offenbach's San Francisco-based Golden Gate Racing Team. McCreadie's tentative West schedule includes events at Phoenix International Raceway (April 19), Iowa Speedway (May 20) and Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway (July 4).

In addition, sometime during the season McCreadie will likely have an opportunity to try his hand in a few NASCAR Busch Series events driving one of the three cars - No. 2 (Clint Bowyer), No. 21 (Kevin Harvick/Timothy Peters) and No. 29 (Jeff Burton/Scott Wimmer) - that RCR fields on the tour.

"This is a very exciting time for me," said McCreadie. "I can't ask for a better shot than this. Jim (Offenbach) is a great guy and has my best interests at heart, and Richard (Childress) wants to give me a shot to run some Busch races.

"I'm thankful to get the opportunity.

"It all goes back to winning races and being with organizations that promote you," McCreadie added when asked what he thought gained him notice from a well-known car owner like Childress. "DIRT (MotorSports) has promoted me from the day I started racing 358s (Modifieds) to now with the Late Models, and I appreciate everything that everyone has done for me."

As McCreadie makes his initial moves to break into stock car racing's major leagues in 2007, he'll remain a big part of the 360 OTC World of Outlaws Late Model Series. He can't commit to following the entire tour, which currently boasts 50 events at 41 tracks in 23 states, but he expects to enter a vast majority of the shows with his familiar championship Sweeteners Plus Racing team.

"In a perfect world, we could run 50 of 'em and go for the title," McCreadie said of this year's 360 OTC WoO LMS sked. "The last thing we wanted to do is not come back and defend our title, but we'll have to see how things fall."

Make no mistake: McCreadie is confident about the 360 OTC WoO LMS effort he'll put forth in 2007.

"I believe that this winter, with (chief mechanic) Tommy Grecco and (crewmen) Johnny Coco working hard and some of the things we've done with cars and other stuff, we've actually made our team stronger," said McCreadie. "I think we're gonna come out and be loaded for bear in Florida."

McCreadie will make his '07 dirt Late Model debut this weekend (Feb. 2-3), running the final two events of a meet at Golden Isles Speedway in Brunswick, Ga. He'll move to East Bay Raceway in Gibsonton, Fla., for the Winternationals from Feb. 5-10 before entering the 36th annual DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Mopar Speed Shop at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla., which will include two 360 OTC WoO LMS events (Feb. 15 and 17) and four UMP DIRTcar Racing shows (Feb. 12, 13, 14 and 16).

For more information on the 360 OTC World of Outlaws Late Model Series, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

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