If it wasn’t for his brother wrecking his sprint car 18 years ago, Jake McLain (67) might have stuck with drag racing. That’s just where the story of chance encounters begins for the 2023 Carolina Sprint Tour champion.
First Chance Encounter for Jake McLain
Back nearly two decades ago, Jake McLain enjoyed drag racing his 1967 Ford Mustang. His brother, Brandon, raced 360 sprint cars and his, father, Doug, mini sprints.
“One night I went with [Brandon] to a test and tune at Carolina Speedway [in Gastonia, North Carolina],” said Jake, of Hembry Bridge, North Carolina. “I was going to drive Brandon’s car, just to say I drove a sprint car. Then, he wrecked it before I got the chance. We brought the broken sprint car back home and he headed off to college.”
Jake went to work on repairing the car. When he finished, he took it out at the now-defunct Mileback Speedway in Gray Court, South Carolina.
“Once I sat behind the wheel of that sprint car it was game over,” Jake said. “Straight-line racing was fun, but when you have a chance to put down 700 horsepower on dirt, it was a different kind of excitement and fun.”
McLain sold his Mustang to his uncle and went full bore into sprint car racing.
More Chance Encounters
Throughout his racing career, chance encounters with successful people in racing steered him along the way.
NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Ray Evernham reached out to Jake and his fellow competitors during the Great Recession of 2007–2009. This led to the formation of a RaceSaver Sprint Series, which grew into what is today’s Carolina Sprint Tour.
After watching the World of Outlaws at Volusia Speedway Park in Florida and The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Jake said he dreamed of driving a transporter for a team. He turned that into reality in 2015.
“I met Justin Adams from Kasey Kahne’s team,” said Jake. “We talked trucks and I was hired by Kasey to be one of his truck drivers.”
During that time, Jake watched some the country’s best sprint car drivers compete across the country.
“To this day, I try to drive like I saw Donny Schatz and Lance Dewease drive,” Jake said. “I try to keep the car straight.”
While Jake no longer works full-time for Kasey Kahne Racing, the friendships remain.
“Kasey and Justin still keep me going — I do trips to get engines and chassis for them,” said Jake. “They have been a big part of my racing for the past eight years. Kasey allows the local sprint car drivers to have a swap meet at his shop. Racers can buy stuff that Brad Sweet used to win the championship.”
Yet, Even More Chance Encounters
While racing in the United Sprint Car Series (USCS), he befriended 15-time series champ Terry Gray.
“I wanted to be like him,” Jake said. “He owned his own cars and gave me [the following] advice: ‘Respect your equipment, respect other racers’ equipment, and you will be successful in racing’. I always remember those words.”
While at a USCS race at the now-defunct Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina, Jake befriended a key person in his success.
“A racer showed up in an open trailer back in ’09,” said Jake. “I helped him unload his car and said, ‘Let’s get you running good.’ I’m the type of racer who gives a part to someone who needs it. I helped this guy. All I knew him by was ‘Brian,’ and we stood around talking and drinking Dr. Pepper.”
That Brian turned out to be Brian Carter, the CEO of World Racing Group. Brian would field the car that Jake used to win the Carolina Sprint Tour championship.
“In racing, you never know who you are helping or talking to,” Jake said. “You may be talking to the next Brian Carter.”
Jake McLain plans to compete in the Carolina Sprint Tour once again in 2024, with encouragement from his car chief Chad Hatcher and crew chief Tony Grams. He shares his shop with the sprint car of the man who helped get him his start, his brother, Brandon.
“We’re not hunting or fishing families,” said Jake. “We are racers, and, as they say, we’re having the most fun you can have with your clothes on.”
The Outside Groove Director of Photography 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.
