It took Kevin McCullough longer than he wanted to join the Pro Buggy class in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series presented by GEICO. It didn’t take him long at all to announce that he could be a championship contender.
McCullough made his debut in the class for the final three races of the 2013 season and finished 5th, 4th and 10th. Last season, with his family and car owner Danny Foddrill funding the team and doing all the work, the 23-year-old from Glendale, Arizona, had two wins and eight top 5 finishes en route to finishing fifth in the point standings and capturing Rookie of the Year honors.
“There’s a lot of strong competitors and to get a win with all these guys out here it’s just been a real challenge,” McCullough said late last season.
“I’m amazed at the growth I’ve seen in myself and the team to be able to run up there and keep up with them. It’s been a good combination of both. I’ve grown a lot as a driver and then the car is really starting to work in and get better and better. Just making the right changes and getting involved with everybody really helped.”
While McCullough’s two wins were considered upsets they probably didn’t surprise anyone who had been watching him and paying attention since he switched to short course off road in 2009 after suffering a broken leg in a motocross accident in 2006.
He and crew chief and father Roger McCullough spent a couple of years learning about the sport and the Limited Buggy class without attracting much notice. McCullough finished seventh in the 2011 standings, though, and in 2012 he was fourth with a dozen top 5 finishes in 15 races.
The national series was reorganized after that season, however, and the Limited Buggy class became part of the regional series. McCullough said they “did everything we could to try and get in a Pro Buggy, but we just couldn’t make it happen money-wise.” As a result he sat out most of the season.
“We kept talking with Danny Foddrill and he said he’d let me try out a car in Las Vegas. We went out there and did fairly decent; we ran fifth one night and fourth the next. So from there on out he said we’ll get a new car going. He built me a brand-new chassis.”
Thus was born the team, which will continue this season because last year’s success wasn’t enough to attract a major sponsor.
“He (Foddrill) takes care of all the chassis and travel stuff and we handle everything else,” McCullough said. “We split everything down the middle where it’s affordable for me and affordable for him to do it and get his chassis out there and build his name.
McCullough, who works as a machinist and has studied business at Glendale Community College, said he has sometimes felt frustrated at not having more financial backing but tries to deal with it in a productive way.
“I try and just take every race as it comes and enjoy every moment I’m here,” McCullough said. “It’s just a real treat to be here and I’m fortunate to have these opportunities that Danny Foddrill gives me and my parents give me as well. I really try to make the best of it and do everything I can to enjoy it.
“I’m open to drive anything anybody wants me to drive,” he said. “I’ll try it all. If they have a seat available and want to give me a shot I’ll try it and see what I can do for them. I feel like I adapt to new cars and changes real quickly.”
This season he’d like to adapt to life in the winner’s circle.
KEVIN McCULLOUGH AT A GLANCE
Age: 23 (16 June 1991)
Lives in: Glendale, Arizona
Marital status: Single
Occupation: Machinist
Car number: 62 Pro Buggy
Type of chassis: Foddrill
Engine: Redline Chevrolet
Crew Chief: Roger McCullough
Sponsors: Foddrills Motorsports, BFGoodrich Tires, Southwest Slurry Seal, Ergon Asphalt and Emulsions, Stapleton Roofing
Years in racing: 6
Divisions raced: ATV, Limited Buggy, Pro Buggy
Series points standings: 5 Pro Buggy (2015); 15 Pro Buggy (2013), 6 Limited Buggy (2013); 4 Limited Buggy (2012); 7 Limited Buggy (2011); 10 Limited Buggy (2010); 14 Limited Buggy (2009)
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