He's The Real McKay
By Lois Pollard-Grant

The name Jim Mckay is synonymous with ministock racing. When Jim isn't racing his '96 Lumina Pro Four south of the border, he can be found working in the Western Speedway pits with the ministocks, where his origin in auto racing began many years ago.

It seemed inevitable, considering the influences surrounding him, that when Jim moved to Langford with his family, at the age of nine, he would form a bond with auto racing.

As a youngster, he watched Ray Pottinger (his grandmother's cousin) race super modifieds at Western Speedway. His dad, John Mckay, was a machinist and a fabricator who helped build the Bob Vantreight super modifieds that Pottinger drove.

Jim's stepbrother, Jim Smith, raced stockcars and claimers in the early '70's. Jim's first racing experience came in demo's in 1982, when he shared the driving duties with Guy McLean.

In 1983, Jim turned his attention to the ministock class which was just getting off the ground at Western Speedway; and in the following years, the talented driver and car builder established an enviable record for himself.

He won an unprecedented six ministock championship titles, and in his 11 years of ministock competition, he never finished lower than third.

Jim tied the record of four consecutive titles with pro stock driver, Roy Haslam, to become only the second stock car driver in the history of Western Speedway to accomplish the feat.

Along the way, he received a healthy share of the club's major awards which included both member of the year and sportsman of the year. Jim has always built his own cars and designed his motors, and admits that he that he is a perfectionist where his cars are concerned. (But the term perfectionist doesn't apply to such things as keeping his 80-plus trophies dusted.)

Success however, didn't come overnight, Jim says. "I blew a lot of motors the first year - trying different things. I always believed in learning from my mistakes."

To have a winning car, Jim figures, "takes a lot preparation - constantly checking the car's set up, ride height, etc. - and a lot of time is spend cleaning and detailing things."

When Jim sold his championship Nissan to Bob Gillies, in 1994, Gillies picked up where Jim left off - setting track records - winning races - and championships.

This year the top three cars in championship points, Gillies, Lois Pollard-Grant and Bob Lafleche are all sporting Mckay motors.

Today, Jim drives his Lumina Pro Four in the States based, Foreign Stock Racing Association, where they are promoted as Four Cylinder Late Model Stocks.

Jim likens the smaller scale Pro Four to the Tour Cars, where the top speeds in both classes are extremely close. The cost factor however, in building a Pro Four is much less than a Tour Car.

Jim was smitten by the four cylinder speedsters the first time he saw them run at Port Angeles Speedway a few years ago. " I ran my ministock with them (Pro Fours) - got a taste of it and found that was what I wanted to do."

The 39-year-old raced only occasionally last year, and except for missing one race he ran the entire series this season.

Running at Spanaway, Port Angeles, Yakima and Wenatchee, he finished the 1998 season third in championship points, behind the wheel of his Forward Automotive and Trevor Harton Productions- sponsored machine.

Does Jim "eat, sleep and breathe auto racing," as so many drivers claim they do? "To a certain extent" he replies, "but when I get involved in something, I apply myself 100 percent."

Even though Jim hasn't raced locally for a number of years he remains very much in the overall ministock picture, serving as a member of the club's board of directors. He is head of the technical committee, and is always there for whoever needs a hand.

"Seeing the ministocks progress and helping people learn", is Jim's reason for putting so much time into local racing.

And Jim hasn't forgotten his roots: "When I first started racing, people helped me."

Ten years from now? Jim would like to be just taking life as it comes, and he would like to be remembered "as somebody who was willing to help a competitor get on the track - ahead of myself."

Yes, Western Speedway has its share of talented drivers - proficient car builders - gentlemen - modest guys- and nice guys. But wrap all these attributes into one package, and you have Jim Mckay.

As printed in the Goldstream News Gazette - 1998