Mike McClish’s entry into the racing world began a couple generations before him and today he’s carrying the torch of that family tradition. “I can’t remember a time when my dad or grandfather weren’t working on an engine or car of some sort,” Mike reminisces. “That passion goes all the way back when my grandfather raced speedsters on wooden tracks in the very early days of circle track racing.”
Once Mike’s dad was old enough, he followed suit and raced on dirt and asphalt oval tracks back in the ’60s—Sprint Cars and Midgets, mostly. He also worked for Performance Engineering, a company that built racing engines for modifieds. Needless to say, being immersed in cars his whole life, led to him acquiring the racing bug as well.
With all that performance lineage, the third-generation racer always had a cool ride throughout his high school days. “I had a ’56 Chevy truck with a done-up 327 out of a ’Vette,” Mike tells. “The guys
