Wed, 4 Aug 2010, 10:10 PM Bill's Will

By Kelly Wade

Bill McCarty with some of his trophies and plaques.

If it's Saturday and you're looking for Bill McCarty, don't bother stopping by his place in Martinsville, Ind.; he won't be there. You can hang out and admire his handsome collection of drag racing trophies and plaques, but McCarty will be 55 miles away at Lyons Raceway Park, deftly orchestrating round-wins behind the wheel of his hot pink Shelby-powered '89 Dodge Dakota in two categories -- or maybe more, as he did on July 24th when he became the first driver to footbrake his way to three wins in three categories in one day at the western Indiana 1/8th mile track.

McCarty typically bracket races his eye-catching pickup in Pro and Sportsman every week, but when he was approached by an observer who was willing to sponsor McCarty's efforts in a third category -- Super Pro -- at the event, it was an offer the established racer couldn't refuse.

"I certainly didn't expect to win all three that weekend," said McCarty. "I would have just been happy to go a couple of rounds, but when it came to third or fourth round, I was in every class still, and my truck was deadly consistent all day.

"I thought that if I could concentrate on my reaction times, I could probably win one of the classes. Next thing I knew, I was in the final of all three, and I couldn't believe it. I beat the points leader in the Super Pro final, won Sportsman, and had a good light and took Pro, too. Then I changed the tires over and drove home."

McCarty and his '89 Dodge Dakota

Two things are remarkable about that last statement: McCarty's relaxed acceptance of his accomplishments and the small detail about getting back behind the wheel and casually driving his triple-winner home. McCarty has been racing since 1989 and has driven his entry to and from the track with only the 2009 season as an exception, when he trailered the Dakota but found the process of loading and unloading to be more of a pain than it was worth.

"I get more satisfaction out of beating those cars that are high dollar with the big money trailers and then passing them on the highway when I go home," chuckled McCarty. "It makes me feel really good that even if I don't win the race, I know I sent a couple of people home who have that kind of equipment, and I do it with as little as possible."

McCarty's tri-victory followed two consecutive weeks of winning both Pro and Sportsman at Lyons, and in the five weeks surrounding the big win, he had been in nine final rounds and saw his win light seven times. The successful foray into Super Pro was especially rewarding for McCarty because he doesn't typically use a delay box and transbrake at the starting line. "I just use my mind and feet," he said.

The Indiana racer's brain and extremities have no trouble tackling multiple categories, and he said that his biggest challenge when wearing three driving caps was being afraid he was going to be disqualified for not getting back up to the starting line in time. But once the track officials assured him that they would allow plenty of time for his return from the top end, he relaxed and the juggling flowed naturally. The Dakota's eight gallon fuel cell and electric water pump permitted non-stop action that ended in a manner that McCarty had only dreamed of.

"I like driving in multiple categories," said McCarty, who also owned a Suzuki 600 motorcycle that he raced for a year and won one event with. "It gives me more seat time, more experience, and it allows me to race more. All I want to do is race. I don't so much care about winning. Being able to be out on the track and go a few rounds satisfies me at the end of the day, and if I take home the money, that's great."

As for how many bracket races he has won, McCarty really can't say, but the number is well over 250. He has earned eight track championships between Lyons Raceway Park and his former home track, Wabash Valley Dragway in Terre Haute, where he raced for 17 years before moving to the Martinsville area in 2007. Every year that McCarty has raced at Lyons, he has won at least one track championship, and -- at the time of this writing -- he was leading the points in both Pro and Sportsman.

A mechanic at a GM dealership during the week, McCarty fills any available free time with performing maintenance on his truck and gladly accepts help on the homefront and at the track from his boys, Jabin, 17; Brody, 5; and Tucker, 3. He credits wife Mandy for her help as well and said, "She keeps my head clear, and if she wasn't there to support me, I probably wouldn't be doing as good as I am today."

McCarty got his first taste of drag racing when he accompanied his brother, who was then studying to be a mechanic, to the track at the impressionable age of 18 to watch him race a '71 Torino GT he had hopped up. Initially, the funds weren't available for regular trips to the track, but McCarty was, of course, totally hooked. He began taking his regular street cars to the track more and more, and within two years, he had a win. In addition to a plethora of bracket race wins, McCarty's collection includes seven NHRA Wallys and an IHRA Iron Man won at the No Box Nationals.

Since 1995, McCarty has qualified every year for the revered Summit ET Finals, and he had a trip to the NHRA Finals at Pomona in sight when he made it down to 10 cars last season but saw it slip away at the end.

McCarty also enjoyed the opportunity to race in the Lyons Raceway Park VP Outlaw Championship, where weekly winners are chosen as the Bounty Hunter and Outlaw and are entered into a group of racers who compete for big money at the end of the year.

"I didn't really feel comfortable running my truck -- there were a lot of Super Pro cars and dragsters in the VP Outlaw class -- so I asked my friend Rick Seals if I could use his Oldsmobile 442. He had the delay box and all that stuff, and at the time, I had never used a transbrake or delay box, never been in a car that popped a wheelie, never been in a car that ran in the six-second zone. It was all new, and on top of all that, Rick is like 6' 5" and I'm 5' 9", so I could barely reach the pedals.

"My first reaction time was really terrible, and he said maybe I should just use my truck. I said, 'Well, I really think I can do this if you give me another chance.' He said he didn't mind if I really wanted to, so we continued on and I ended up winning the race. I got the thousand dollars cash, a trophy, a jacket, and I ended up beating everybody. That was pretty great, and I think that was the fastest I ever went -- 6.53 at 103 mph."

With that kind of diversity and appreciation of the sport, it isn't really a surprise that McCarty's oldest son, Jabin, is now racing, too. He runs Dad's 11-second Oldsmobile daily driver in Sportsman but will likely take over driving the truck when Dad decides it's time. With a father's pride, McCarty unabashedly proclaims that watching his son race is even more enjoyable than actually racing himself, but he may never fall into the role of simple observer.

"I have a dream to run in Stock or Super Stock," said McCarty. "I love watching those cars go. That type of competition and those kinds of cars, that's really what I want to be a part of. They're so expensive to build and to compete with, I'm not sure how I would be able to do it. But I'm going to be running the NHRA Unleashed at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis this weekend, and I'm hoping to do well. I might try out for the TV show Who Wants To Be A Race Car Driver there. The prize is a fully funded race car for a whole season.

"Racing is like an addiction. The competition, the friends. I think about it all week long, and I have to be at the track on Saturday. It's not always about winning for me; it's just about being able to be out there."