SHINNSTON, W.Va. – Three-time national champion Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., has officially been named the driver for the Rocket Chassis house car team, Mark Richards Racing announced on Monday.

McCreadie, 49, brings two decades of distinguished Dirt Late Model duty to the Shinnston, W.Va.-based operation that was left in the market for a new driver after Hudson O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind., ended his successful year-plus run with the team last week.

The New Yorker will debut behind the wheel of the well-known blue No. 1 car in this weekend’s Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series doubleheader at Atomic Speedway in Alma, Ohio, and Brownstown (Ind.) Speedway and spend the remainder of the season focused on chasing his third career title on the circuit with the team that won the crown last year with O’Neal.

“We’re excited to have Tim McCreadie,” team co-owner Mark Richards said. “He’s got years of experience, he’s a Lucas Oil and World of Outlaws champion, he’s won the World 100 and a lot of other races. We chose Tim McCreadie because he’s the guy that we need right now — somebody with experience and the tenacity to be able to carry the legacy of Rocket1 on.

“Hudson O’Neal is one of the top drivers in the country and I feel like his time with Rocket1 accelerated his climb to get there,” he added. “Hudson will always be part of Rocket1’s history and we were proud to have him on board. We can’t say enough about how great a guy Hudson is, we wish him the best in the future, and I’m sure he will have continued success in his career.”

McCreadie, who earned World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series Rookie of the Year honors in 2004 and the championship in ’06 while running Rocket cars for most of the first decade of his full-fender career, expressed excitement to return to the Rocket fold as the company’s flagship driver. He joins Rocket1 Racing after a stint of four-plus years driving for Donald and Gena Bradsher’s Paylor Motorsports highlighted by back-to-back Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series titles in 2021-22.

“I’m extremely ecstatic and humbled at the same time to have the opportunity to drive the Rocket house car,” McCreadie said while thanking the Bradshers for their backing since 2020. “It’s an iconic ride for a long, long time. To be one of the guys Mark thought could do the job is very humbling from my end.

“If you would’ve told me several years ago I’d be driving this car, I would’ve been like, ‘I don’t see that ever happening.’ But here I am. I’m not gonna try to figure out why they want me. I’m just happy and fired up that they want me. I’m ready to get to work.”

McCreadie enters this weekend’s Lucas Oil Series action with one tour victory in 2024 and ranked ninth in the points standings, 225 points out of the lead and just 100 points away from the fourth-place spot. He’s sixth on the tour’s all-time win list with 35 career triumphs.