~ By Tom Boggie

There’s nothing I hate more than writing about the death of another dirt modified legend, but it has to be done from time to time.

Bob McCreadie died Wednesday at the age of 74.

The Watertown driver was one of the most respected … and iconic… drivers to ever sit behind the wheel of a dirt modified. During a 30-year racing career, he won 507 races, including an astonishing 47 during the 1994 season. There were a ton of highlights to McCreadie’s storied career, including his big block victory at Syracuse in 1986.

When I was covering stock car racing for the Daily Gazette, I always looked forward to going to Super DIRT Week in Syracuse just to see what the innovative McCreadie was going to be driving. He always parked at the far end of the fourth-turn side of the infield, with his open trailer sitting against the chain link fence. More often than not, “Barefoot” Bob would be sitting on the back of the hauler, smoking a cigarette. He was on the scrawny side, with a distinctive gray beard, and never really talked a lot, until he got to know you. He had a small circle of close friends, which included another modified legend, Jack Johnson, but his legion of faithful fans was enormous.

McCreadie, who was legally blind in his left eye, the result of a childhood surgery, began racing in 1971, but didn’t win a race until 1975, when he put his super-narrow Barracuda into victory lane at Evans Mills Speedway. According to legend, that car helped McCreadie get his nickname, because the driver’s compartment of the Barracuda was so narrow that he had to take off his boots to fit in the car. But McCreadie always claimed that he got the nickname long before that, when he was growing up in a poor neighborhood in Watertown, because he was constantly walking around barefoot.

Fans always got a little adrenalin rush when they saw McCreadie’s orange-and-blue Kinney Drugs-sponsored modified pull into a race track, and Albany-Saratoga Speedway was no different. There was always a little extra buzz when McCreadie pulled in for one of CJ Richards’ Super Shootout races, even though he never won a race at the historic Malta track.

Barefoot Bob also had his share of rough times, including breaking his back five times in racing accidents.

His racing career came to an abrupt end in 2006. Just days after being inducted into what was then the DIRT Motorsports Hall of Fame in Weedsport, which was one of McCreadie’s favorite tracks, he was riding his motorcycle through a parking lot in Watertown when he was hit by a car, suffering severe injuries. Years later, according to published reports, a Watertown jury awarded him $1.7 million in damages, which was reduced to $1.445 million when the jury determined that McCreadie was 15 percent responsible for the accident.

The last time McCreadie sat behind the wheel of a race car was May 28, 2006, when he competed in a Super DIRT Series race at Weedsport.

The McCreadie racing legacy will live on through his sons Tim and Jordan, but there will never be another Barefoot Bob.

MALTA NOTES

I don’t know about anyone else, but I was pretty darn impressed with Billy Pauch Jr.’s performance last Friday night. After failing to qualify through his heat, Pauch Jr. had to run the modified B main, and early in the 10-lap consy, it looked like his night was over, when he pulled into the pits under caution. But his crew went under the hood, fixed the problem and Pauch Jr. came back out to finish third, getting a spot in the feature.

That put Pauch Jr. in the last row of the 28-car field, but after 35 laps, he was 10^th in his TEO Pro chassis.

“I’ve always admired this place. It’s real racy,” said Pauch after the feature. “I’ve gotten to know Lyle (promoter Lyle DeVore) pretty good over the years and what he does here, it just shows that if you have a good track prep guy, you’re going to have a great track.”

Pauch Jr.’s appearance last Friday was just his third time at the speedway, and on one of those occasions, he didn’t even make it to the feature, barrel-rolling his car early in the night.

But he said he’s going to be back next month for the Don Davies Memorial and he’s got some good notes to work with.

“Matt Hearn (co-owner of TEO Fabrications) and a bunch of guys I race with gave me a good setup for tonight,” Pauch Jr. said. “Hopefully, it will work for us when we come back in June.”

Jack Speshock should remember to play Lotto next year on the second Friday in May.

Speshock picked up his second career win last Friday (May 10), one year after recording his first win on May 12. Speshock had been involved in the multi-car wreck during the modified feature at Albany-Saratoga the previous week and worked on getting the car back together all week.

A lot of drivers have complained about the racing surface for the last couple of weeks, so after the race, I asked Speshock, who came from his 12^th starting position to get the victory, for his thoughts about the track.

“I thought it was good,” he said with a smile. “Hey, I won. I’m not going to bitch about the track.”

Two weeks ago, Ronnie Johnson had an early night, not qualifying for the modified feature. Peter Britten, who sat in victory lane on April 26, almost suffered the same fate last weekend.

Britten started eighth in the modified B main, and then had to go back to the rear of the field when he tangled with Brendan Daley on a restart. Just when it looked like Britten was going to finish fifth and miss transferring, Garrett Poland, who was running second, brought out a caution flag on the last lap because of mechanical problems, allowing Britten to move up to fourth and get the final transfer spot. Britten then charged from the rear to finish seventh.

Before the race, I had talked to Johnson about his DNQ, asking if it was anything he could put his finger on.

“I’m not sure why,” he answered. “There was nothing in particular. Maybe tires, maybe the set-up was off. This is a funny game.”

Among the spectators Friday night was Brett Hearn, who was also involved in the big wreck the previous week. Hearn said he’ll be back this Friday, but then has to take a couple of weeks off to promote a race at Orange County Speedway on Memorial Day weekend. Gee, Brett, that will take us into June. Will the fun meter still be running by then?

Chris Stalker picked up his first win of the season in the street stock feature, and was quick to thank Nick Stone, who operates Stone Motorsports. “I’ve been battling with this car all year,” Stalker said. “I have to thank Nick Stone for giving me a heck of a set-up tonight.”

The DIRTcar Pro Stock Series is on the racing card at Malta Friday. Luke Horning, who is winless in four starts so far at Albany-Saratoga, is the defending champion of the DIRTcar Pro Stock Series.

AROUND THE TRACKS

Glen Ridge Motorsports Park opened its 2024 season Sunday, with Stewart Friesen, who finished 14^th in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Darlington on Friday night, making the short haul from his home in Sprakers to win the 358 modified feature. Two nights later, Friesen went down to Accord Speedway for the 50-lap Barry Davis Memorial “Battle of the Bullring”, which paid $9,090.90 to win, a tribute to Davis’ former 9D modified. The race was called after 33 laps because of rain, with Friesen holding off veteran Rich Ricci Jr. for the victory. Former Albany-Saratoga champion Mike Mahaney finished sixth, while Marc Johnson finished 10^th, after qualifying through the consy and starting 25^th.

Vince Quenneville Jr. picked up the win last Saturday in the sportsman/modified feature at Devil’s Bowl Speedway. The 58-year-old Quenneville, who had one win at the Bowl last year, has been racing since 1988, and recorded his first career win at the Bowl on July 21, 1990, in the fourth annual Vince Quenneville Sr. Memorial race. Quenneville Sr. was killed in a trucking accident on July 14, 1987, nine days after his final modified win at the Bowl. The win on Saturday pushed Quenneville Jr., a three-time track champion (two on asphalt, one on dirt) into sole possession of second place on the all-time modified win list with 36 victories.

Tim Hartman Jr. is still undefeated in the sportsman division at Lebanon Valley, after getting win No. 3 last Saturday night. Hartman Jr. told me on Friday that he put together a new engine package for the Valley this season, and it’s obviously paying off.

Here’s something you don’t see often … a man and his grandson in victory lane on the same night. Veteran Frank Twing won last Saturday night’s pro stock feature at Lebanon Valley, while his grandson, Frank Jr., won the limited sportsman feature. Yeah, his grandson is Frank Twing Jr., whose father is Frank Twing Sr. I can’t explain it. It’s a little like trying to keep the Hackel clan straight.