After a couple major wins at the end of the 2021 season, DJ McCain is motivated to get back to the winner’s circle to start his 2022 season. Going into Duck X Productions’ Holley EFI Lights Out 13 this weekend at South Georgia Motorsports Park, McCain is chasing victories in both X275 and Limited Drag Radial. 

“That's what we show up for. We show up to win,” said McCain, who won Lights Out 10 in the Small-Block No-Time class. “I'm very motivated to try to start the season strong. We had a little mishap that caused us to have a little downtime. Looking forward to getting back at it and seeing how strong we can start the season.”

The mishap McCain refers to was a crash in his Limited Drag Radial ride, the “Black Plague” Mustang, at No Mercy 12 at SGMP in October. McCain and his team, led by younger brother and tuner Ryan McCain, were able to patch the car back up at the track and ended up winning the race, but the car needed some advanced work at the chassis shop to get it ready for the 2022 season. 

McCain also rebuilt the LS-based, nitrous-fed small-block engine in the McCain family’s popular “Bowser” ’71 Datsun that runs in X275. Even with a hurt engine, McCain drove “Bowser” to the X275 win at the 50th annual Snowbird Outlaw Nationals at Bradenton Motorsports Park in December. 

“We rebuilt the engine at the Snowbirds just to limp through the race. It wasn't 100% ready,” McCain said. “We had to tear it down and refresh the engine before this race. She has a clean bill of health. We actually had it on the hub dyno at Modern Racing just yesterday making sure everything is squared away and firing on all cylinders.”

With stacked fields in X275 and Limited Drag Radial, McCain realizes it will be a challenge to race deep into eliminations on Sunday, but it’s the challenge that drives him. 

“We like to call X275 a shark tank,” said McCain, who will be joined in X275 by teammate Marques Hatton in the “Nemesis” Mustang. “There's always going to be a lot of tough competitors there, as well as LDR. There's been some rule changes. We got a little weight added, so we'll have to see how that affects us. It's not going to be easy on either front.”

Lights Out has grown into the must-see, must-attend drag radial race of the season, attracting racers from around the world to compete on the legendary South Georgia eighth-mile strip. 

“It's always been a big race,” McCain said. “I've been going there for a few years now. All the best competitors come from all over the country and you see where you stack up against some of the best when it comes to radial racing.”

After some schedule changes and a rainout at the U.S. Street Nationals, this race is now the official start of the new Fueltech Radial Outlaws Racing Series, a points series geared toward drag radial classes like Radial vs. the World, Pro 275, X275, Limited Drag Radial, and Ultra Street. The opportunity to add points to the board makes a Lights Out win even more valuable.  

“A win at Lights Out would put you in a good lead and get off on the right foot as far as trying to pursue that championship,” McCain said. “That's important to me.”

Fans can tune in to FloRacing’s coverage of Lights Out 13 beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 23.