Lucas Oil Late Model driver, Toni McCray Photo – Sal Sigala Jr.
Toni McCray is our next guest on Fan4Racing Fan2Fan NASCAR & Race Talk on Monday, October 6, 2014 at 9:30 pm ET. Call 347-996-5176 during the LIVE broadcast with any questions/comments.
Although more women are racing, there are still fewer women than men in the sport today. Toni McCray is one of the few making her mark among the men in the Lucas Oil Late Model series. But what makes her stand out is her results, especially at the mid-point of the season when she had five wins in seven races in the series.
“I think the biggest thing is you have to have a heart for it,” Toni McCray said. “You really have to want it.”
And that is just the beginning and perhaps the driving force for a female race car driver – as several other women in the sport have most likely discovered. It’s not easy being a female in the male-dominated world of racing.
“It takes a lot of money, so finding sponsorship is hard, which we know,” McCray said. “Finding people who believe in you because as a female it’s a lot harder than a guy. It’s never giving up. You can’t quit. When you believe in yourself and know you have the ability and get the people behind you that believe in you, it will happen.”
For sponsors that belief comes from a racer’s skill and performance on the track, but what sponsors also value is a driver’s passion for what they do on and off the track. McCray makes it clear, she loves racing and loves winning just as much.
“I love it. I absolutely love the racing,” she said. “It’s been a part of my life since day one. I grew up in it. It’s in my blood and I do not think I’ll get it out. I love the challenge, I love the aspect of figuring out how to make the car faster. I love winning.
But that doesn’t mean it’s easy or that there aren’t moments of doubt, for all racers. As a woman, those doubts are often reinforced by how tough it is to find success among the sport’s male talent – and especially when they’re all competing for sponsor dollars.
“(Sometimes) you question why you’re still racing. You have to have to have a lot of money to get to the next level.”
McCray’s grandfather, father, uncles and brothers have all raced. But finding a life partner to share her passion of racing with all its ups and downs is a bit challenging. But just as racing presents unique difficulties for women, finding the right guy for her life also presents a challenge.
“I’m still looking for the perfect guy,” she said. “It is not necessarily somebody in racing, but somebody who obviously enjoys it, because it’s part of my life.
“Guys say I’m intimidating.”
McCray’s success this season was clear this past weekend when she chose to race at Kern County Raceway, despite the championship title event for the Lucas Oil Late-Model series at Irwindale Event Center on Saturday. Heading into the event, McCray was second in the series’ point standings – 82-points away from the lead and still finished third overall.
By making her mark among men, McCray will undoubtedly continue moving her career forward as a female racer.