It wasn’t a dream when Tim McCreadie won “The Stream” dirt late model invitational at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway. He topped some of the country’s best drivers to earn a $50,000 payday.
On a weekend when Eldora traditionally hosts The Dream, it instead put on The Stream. While The Dream sees bustling grandstands full of people, the Stream relegated fans to watch from home instead due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
McCreadie, 46, of Watertown, New York, pulled his Eldora Speedway mask over his face in victory lane in an effort to instill some levity during a time when the spirits of many race fans could use it.
“I know the virus is a serious problem — people all around me [in New York state] have died,” McCreadie said. “I was trying to get a smile for a moment. Everything has been so serious and stressful lately.”
Race fans — a bane to some crew members trying to get work done in the infield and dreaded by some drivers who have been jeered at after races — are now missed more than ever.
“I would often be in the trailer, building a shock and spring [combination], when the crowd would roar,” said McCreadie. “I knew something important was happening, so I would run out and look.
“On the track, coming through the third and fourth turns, I quickly glance at the crowd. The fans are a ‘tell,’ [with] their arms pointing — looking at you, behind you, or in front of you. It can be an indication of what you may have to deal with next.”
McCreadie views this win as one of his most memorable.
“There are a few things that have personal meaning to me [in racing],” McCreadie said. “The hat I wore in victory lane at the World 100 a couple of years ago, the checkered flags Roger Slack gave me after winning the Chili Bowl, and this face mask. They all have an important story behind them.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
