Bear Lake, Pa.’s Boom Briggs is finding early success in his new role outside the cockpit. Photo courtesy of Emily Schwanke

BEAR LAKE, Pa. — As two of the biggest names in the Northeast corner of the dirt Late Model world, Boom Briggs and Tim McCreadie have been fast friends for decades.

They’ve spent their careers trading sliders on the track and busting chops in the pits afterwards. Briggs had always imagined joining forces with McCreadie someday, but it remained a mere idea for years with both men on their own separate paths in the sport.

Then came the end of the 2024 season. McCreadie was looking for a new home after his departure from Rocket1 Racing, while Briggs was considering taking a step back from being a full-time driver. At that point, Briggs knew that “someday” had arrived.

“McCreadie’s only two hours from me, so he can be more involved, it’s more of a family atmosphere here,” Briggs said. “Me and Timmy have been friends a long time. We’re both getting older, and I’m the closest race team to his house. We’re friends, we’re family friends. We always talked about it, and I guess the timing was right.”

Many former drivers have expressed how getting out of the seat and guiding a team to success from the sidelines can present a world of new challenges. But between his experience working for his cousin Chub Frank early in his career, as well as the team he’s assembled to take some of the load off his shoulders, Briggs has fit into his new role like a glove.

“It’s not been that much of an adjustment,” Briggs said. “I knew someday, that’s what was going to happen. And you know, I started my career working for Chub. Honestly, I don’t work that hard when I go with Timmy, I just keep the wheels in motion. The kids that we’ve got working right now are working their (butt) off. I just kind of oversee everything, keep Timmy’s head on, keep them focused and make sure the kids are doing what they need to do.”

While Briggs had all the faith in the world in his driver and team, the first two months of their return to the World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision didn’t come close to meeting expectations. Two top 10s in the first eight races made it clear that something was off in the No. 9M camp.

After becoming one of the faces of the Longhorn Chassis brand during his previous tenure with Paylor Motorsports, McCreadie had spent a year struggling to get accustomed to a Rocket Chassis and find that same speed. Briggs has been a loyal Rocket supporter for much of his career and started the year with no plans to change course, but he knew the only way to get back into contention was to give his driver a machine he felt at home in. Thus, the Briggs Transport hauler rolled into Farmer City Raceway in April with a brand-new Longhorn in tow.

“That’s what Tim’s comfortable in it, he understands them,” Briggs said. “Tim right now is basically doing his own setups. Yes, we talk back and forth and stuff, but Timmy’s probably working harder than he has in 20 years and I think it’s paying off. Like I told him the other day, he’s more involved, he knows exactly what’s going on and his performance has paid off. He’s knocking on fourth in points now and he was sitting 10th. Tim can still get the job done.

“They did the switch to get Tim comfortable and got to where Tim could win races again. I still run my Rocket car; I’ve got no issues with Rocket. Mark Richards is a really good personal friend of mine. It was just a business decision.”

The box score from the first weekend following the switch may have been less than stellar due to some bad luck come Feature time at the Illini 100, but a solid Qualifying effort and McCreadie’s first Redraw appearance of the season on Saturday provided reason for optimism.

They followed that up with a seventh-place run at the Talladega Short Track two weeks later before heading to Wisconsin, where McCreadie finished fourth and fifth at Mississippi Thunder Speedway for his first top fives since January. All of a sudden, Briggs and McCreadie were rolling into a trio of tracks close to home with momentum on their side.

The first stop of the weekend at Raceway 7 was an emotional day from the start. It marked one year since McCreadie lost his father, “Barefoot” Bob McCreadie, while Briggs had been through the passing of Frank’s wife, Mary, the week prior. Their minds could have been on anything but racing that day, but Briggs made sure to keep his team focused on the task at hand.

Given the Conneaut, Ohio facility’s proximity to Briggs’ Bear Lake home, along with McCreadie’s stellar record there of a win and three top fives in three starts, Briggs knew he had a team capable of contending for the win that night. Midway through the racing program, he started to believe the months of work were about to pay off.

“I watched him in the Heat Race, and I can tell by watching him that he’s comfortable, he’s aggressive,” Briggs said. “I’ve got full faith in Tim McCreadie, I have for 20-plus years. The guy’s a good race car driver. Anybody you talk to in this sport, when Tim McCreadie is confident and comfortable, he wins races.”

When the dust settled in the Great Lake Showdown, Briggs found himself standing in World of Outlaws Victory Lane alongside one of his best friends to cap off one of the most memorable nights of his career. But they weren’t done there.

The bid for a second-straight win two nights later at Marion Center Raceway ended in catastrophe when he was collected in a pileup just before halfway, sending the crew into thrash mode to make repairs in time to race at Bedford Speedway the following night.

The car was good as new by the time it hit the track on Sunday. McCreadie qualified second in his group and won his Heat Race to advance to the Redraw, where he drew the Bilstein Pole Award to start up front alongside Series points leader Bobby Pierce. McCreadie came out on top of that battle against the fastest Late Model in the country in 2025 for his second win of the weekend, revitalizing Briggs’ outlook on what’s possible in the remainder of the season.

“We were talking today, and he can’t remember the last time he won two races in a weekend,” Briggs said. “So, to win two out of three against the number one guy in the country, the sky’s the limit. What can he do? He put himself in position qualifying good, winning Heat Races. You win Heat Races, you start in the top four, the wins come.

“Bedford was a big deal. Bobby’s good, and Bobby started outside pole and we won. The biggest thing is Tim’s confidence is up. When his confidence is up, the sky’s the limit.”

The Briggs Transport team will resume the World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision season with the St. Louis Firecracker Faceoff at I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park on Friday and Saturday, June 20-21.