Building a race car on a limited budget is a test of creativity and resourcefulness.
One must have connections, have impeccable timing, and exercise patience.
It’s easier said than done, especially when equipment often means the difference between first place and fifth.
But Chad McCool finds a way.
The Millport, Alabama, native has made art out of spare materials, some that are seemingly beyond repair.
That has been the case this year, as McCool has turned a 2010 Victory Circle chassis that was bent and worn out into an operable race car. He took it to friend Brent Mitchell, who grounded it down and welded it together. McCool then sold his MasterSbilt and poured his resources into his repaired frame.
“I then horse-traded around and got a new Crate motor,” McCool said. “I ended up getting a good deal on a rear-end. I had all winter to do it. I basically had all the parts for the front end anyway, so it didn’t take a whole lot, some sheet metal and stuff around the shop.”
The work has produced impressive results for McCool, who has committed to the Super Late Model points series at Magnolia Motor Speedway, where he is fourth. When there isn’t a Super Late Model points race, he competes in Crate Late Model races.
McCool, a former runner-up in points at Magnolia, is still searching for his first win this season. But he has a runner-up finish and fourth- and sixth-place finishes in the NeSmith Crate division at the venue, which will host a full slate of races Sunday night.
McCool’s success this year has been powered by an intricate and thrifty plan to upgrade key components of his car, particularly suspension parts.
“There’s so much leftover stuff — good stuff — that a lot of guys will sell because they like to keep new equipment,” McCool said. “I bought an upper control arm, five of them actually, from a guy who had two races on them. That’s anywhere from $75 to $130 and I bought them for $10 to $15 a piece.”
McCool recently had his shocks repaired after seven years. But the greatest indicator he was getting every bit of life out of his race parts happened a few weeks ago at Magnolia, when his power steering pump quit. It had given him seven years of trouble-free operation, so he didn’t have a spare at the track.
But that resourcefulness helped him find a way on the track for the Super Late Model feature, where he climbed from 15th to finish sixth.
“My buddy Kyle Shaw, who also lives in Millport, had a power steering pump at his house,” McCool said. “Me and dad jumped in the pickup, came to Kyle’s, which is about 35 minutes from the track, got the pump and got back to The Mag to put it in before the feature. So basically, how we unloaded was how we raced. Didn’t have time to do anything to the car.”
While the integrity of suspension parts and motors can separate drivers on the track, McCool said tire preparation is the real magic in how he operates. First, he doesn’t sipe his tires. He prefers to “groove” them.
“I don’t sipe my tires because they won’t last for the long haul,” he said. “I’ll groove my tires, cut them as far as anyone can cut a tire. But the real strategy is knowing which tires to run and when. I alternate between a worn out set in hot laps, then I come back in put on my newer tires for qualifying. For the feature, if the track is tacky and heavy, I run my decent tires because they won’t wear out. If it’s slick, I’ll put on my worn-out tires or my 55s, a harder tire.
“Sometimes you have to figure where you’re starting because if you’re likely to finish 10th or worse, there’s no sense in wearing something out because the pay will be the same for a 24th-place finish.”
McCool’s last feature win was in June 2015 at Columbus Speedway, where he won $2,000 in a Limited Late Model feature.
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