Andrea McCain: A true racer

Whether it is a weeknight in the shop, or at the racetrack, you probably will see Andrea McCain working on her race car. She is a bit of a throwback in a way -- she does most of the work on her race car herself, aside from some tire work her dad, Keith, does during the week.  And do not be misled – she is not complaining about doing the work.

“I do it all, because it’s my car,” McCain said. “I like to know what’s going on with it. I don’t like the idea of getting in the car and just driving.”

The 31-year-old from South Haven, Minn., races her #25A IMCA Stock Car at Arlington Raceway, located about an hour southwest of Minneapolis, each week.  McCain is in her 10^th year of racing and sixth in the ultra-competitive stock car division.

She is the definition of a "true racer" in almost every way, as her attitude and enthusiasm would indicate.

She grew up going to races and that got her interest in someday getting behind the wheel. Her brother, Dan, started racing in 2008.

“I was like ‘one day I was like, ‘I want to do this,” McCain said.

She hopped behind the wheel of an Outlaw Hobby Stock at Arlington and had success in the division, picking up feature wins. But moving to the IMCA Stock Car class had an appeal to her – not just because of the competitive, close racing, but that also gave her the ability to travel around and race at different tracks.  Her day job at Parts City in Cokato gave her flexibility to do some traveling.

That’s exactly what she did in 2024. Starting in Arizona in January, she raced 43 times. That included several solo trips to prominent IMCA tracks in Iowa like Boone and Marshalltown. That meant she was her own pit crew.

“I had flexibility where I could go anywhere any time. If I can go, I am going to,” McCain said. “I would go by myself. In between the races I was doing everything.”

At one Iowa track, in fact, a fan came by her trailer while she was working on her car and told McCain he’d never seen a female come alone from a different state and race at that track. He bought a T-shirt from her. The season was a lot of traveling and work – but also enjoyable for McCain, who works as second job as a custodian at Dassel-Cokato schools to help fund her racing program.

“I raced a lot last year,” McCain said. “The results kind of sucked, but I had a lot of fun.”

McCain's 25A flipping in 2024 at Fairmont.

The season was not without adversity.  Last summer at Fairmont, she was hit hard in the right rear on the opening lap of a heat race, and it sent the 25A car flying into the air and up and over the wall.

“There was the third time I rolled in that car, and that was by far the worst,” McCain said.

She suffered a concussion but no other injuries. The car, however, was done for.

McCain decided she wanted a brand-new car for the 2025 season, so she purchased a B and B Chassis, built by Paul Burger of Belle Plaine, who has also helped her with the setup of her 25A machine.

“The biggest thing is having Paul help me,” McCain said.

There were some issues with the car bogging down in the corners early in the year – later discovered to be a fuel cell issue which has been corrected, and she’s been more competitive since.

What is racing in the IMCA Stock Cars like?

“We race really close together,” McCain said. “It’s so competitive. It’s intense. Going from the outlaw to the stocks, they are way faster. The reaction time of the cars is way different than what I was used to. It’s so fun. I don’t know how else to describe it.”

But she is also still learning about the class, which includes from her fellow competitors in the class.

“I’m racing guys who’ve been racing for 30 years, and I’m 31 years old and I’ve been racing for 10 years,” McCain said. “They have taught me a lot, just talking to me in the pits. On the track I have learned more from the good guys, just following their lines.”

She is still searching for her first stock car feature win.  But she is getting closer. On July 26 at Arlington, she led over half of the feature before being passed by one of the top drivers in the class for many years in that area – Dan Mackenthun of Hamburg. She finished a season-best second.

“That’s still a huge goal to get a win,” McCain said. “I have some work to do…I am getting better. I am hoping for top sevens the rest of the year.”

Even with all the nights working on her car in the shop, there is one thing that is certain for McCain. She loves racing.

“All of it. Everything that goes with it,” McCain said. “The biggest thing for me is the family I have made from racing and the camaraderie about it. And driving the car is right up there as well.”

Driver profile

Andrea McCain

IMCA Stock Car #25A

Age: 31

Residence: South Haven, Minn.

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