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Ricky McClain in the Fast lane |
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Written by Trey Dixon
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 It’s Saturday night in Screven County. The crowd at Screven Motor Speedway watches as the Moonrunners slide into turn number one to start twenty laps of hard racing. Leading the pack is the #55 red Camaro driven by Ricky McClain Jr. As each lap further separates the men from the boys, Ricky pulls past the lap cars with the #3 car sticking on him like a magnet waiting for the opportunity to take the lead, but this is one lead that Ricky has no intention of letting go.
With the checkered flag he claims the win and leaves the other placers and the also-rans with nothing but the vinyl stickered message on the rear of his car reading “Cry, Cry, Cry”.
 A victory lap later Ricky climbs out of his car to celebrate with the proudest family in southeast Georgia. The round of family hugs and congratulations ends with his father, whose face is shining with the pride of a man whose son just did it right.
Just barely eighteen years old, this is Ricky’s first feature win in a car be built himself. Tonight is the next step in a high octane life he started over a decade ago as a child behind the wheel of a fast go cart at Pineora in Effingham County. Those early days of racing put a fever in him that’s never cooled down. By the age of fifteen he was racing cars and doing it well enough to turn a lot of heads and earn him early respect from his peers. He’s devoted enough to the trade that while most eighteen year old guys are spending Friday night running the streets, Ricky is in his shop making sure his car is ready for the next run. That’s exactly where I found him when I went out to talk with him for Southland.
 Ricky’s shop is a converted barn that’s been put together as the perfect arena to set up a racecar. We talked in the garage across the roof of the car that carried him to victory, still sporting red clay from the track. It’s a 1974 Camaro with a 383 Stroker capable of 700 horsepower. Ricky does most of his mechanical work on his own. His high school shop teacher Mr. Sweat recognized Ricky’s aptitude for mechanics early on and helped him develop it. He knows and understands every inch of his car, which he explained is important when you’re on the track. “You have to trust the car you’re driving” he told me. “You have to know that when you go into that turn the car is going to do what you need it to do”. He said “You take the best driver in the world and put him in a car that’s not set up right and he won’t do good. Put a great driver and a great car together and you can’t beat him.”
 Having people around you who really care about you goes a long way too. Ricky is surrounded by family and friends who care as much about his success as he does. From his primary sponsor, Rob Sullivan and Sullivan Law Firm, who recognizes the talent and supports it, to his family who is in the stands cheering every time he takes to the track, to his friends who share his passion and are always there to support him, Ricky knows what it means to have support.
What about Ricky’s future in racing? When you ask him about it you can tell that it’s never crossed his mind to ever stop, but his ambitions aren’t where you might think. He harbors no dreams of NASCAR. He’s a racing purist and prefers dirt under his wheels. He prefers Lucas Oil to the Bill France empire, and is making all the right moves to take it as far as he wants to go.
Ricky’s support team includes his mother Karen McClain, his father Ricky McClain Sr., his sister Paige McClain, Ashley Lee, Doug Thomson, Tyran Garbett, Eric Prosser, Wieght Hodges, and many more.
If you want to see some exciting racing make plans to catch some of Ricky’s upcoming events. He’ll be racing throughout the season at Screven Motor Speedway outside of Sylvania. Want to put your business brand on a winner? McClain Racing can get you great exposure and involve your business in all the excitement of dirt track racing. |
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