N-J | Ron White
Tim McCreadie, left, discussing his qualifying run Monday at Volusia Speedway Park, has signed a contract to drive several races this year for Richard Childress Racing.
"It was weird. We had to bounce calls back and forth a few times because I don't get really good reception where I live" said McCreadie, whose silver-streaked hair and hot-streaked racing brought him to the attention of Richard Childress Racing.

When finally he was able to field the call, McCreadie, the 2006 World of Outlaws Late Model series champion, heard the words he had dreamt of on so many nights.

McCreadie, 32, landed a contract and will be a key component of the RCR Driver Development Program that Childress believes will bring the next great drivers to NASCAR's Busch and Nextel Cup series.

"I was kind of blown away," McCreadie said. "I've been racing and winning for 10 years now.

"A lot of people thought I had a chance to move up, but there had never been anything concrete."

Childress has kicked his development program up a notch by moving into the dirt-car world. Childress brought two World of Outlaws Late Model series cars and a UMP Modified series entry to Volusia Speedway Park last week for the 36th annual DIRTcar Nationals.

Nextel Cup driver Clint Bowyer strapped into the seat Monday for the first of six days of late model racing at the track in Barberville. Bowyer, who had the day off from Daytona International Speedway, was driving in place of Dale McDowell, who was hired in January to head RCR's Driver Development program.

Joining Bowyer and McDowell on the track was Austin Dillon, Childress' 16-year-old grandson. He ran both a UMP Modified car and a World of Outlaws Late Model series car on Monday.

McDowell, who has 27 years of experience racing on dirt and asphalt tracks, is taking Dillon and his 14-year-old brother, Ty, under his wing as a personal tutor. Childress learned of McDowell, who started a race driving school in Georgia, through his Nextel Cup drivers, said McCreadie.

Dillon has a long way to go, but McCreadie said he's already noticed an increased aggressiveness from the young hopeful.

"He's fiery, and that's good. It's a lot easier to calm a guy down than it is to pump him up," McCreadie said.

McDowell said an individual can develop into a great driver, but there is also another component to it, a strong desire to succeed. He said he sees that in both of the Childress grandsons.

"They have the talent and the desire to win. That's what you need in this sport," McDowell said. The plan for McCreadie includes a host of races on several different circuits.

"He's going to let me race as much as I want, so I can kind of bounce around and get into some of the big-money stuff," McCreadie said. "They went me to help out wherever they need me. I'm readyto do anything they want."

McCreadie is expected to run some Grand National and ARCA races and, possibly, a few late-season NASCAR Busch Series races for Richard Childress Racing, which owns three Busch Series cars.

Earl Pearson Jr., who started on the inside lane of the front row, won the 25-lap feature in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series Monday. Pearson Jr. won by six seconds over second-place finisher McCreadie. The series runs again tonight at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville.