Young Avon Driver Climbs the Midwest Sprint Car Ranks
Race fans know all about the excitement surrounding a racetrack. Fans are shouting, your heart is racing, and the sound of the cars as they pass by can be deafening, and yet they continue to come back for more — particularly those who have grown up with a love for all things racing and always wanted to get involved.
Like so many before him, Avon High School graduate Trey “T-Mac” McGranahan grew up in the racing world. His mom worked for Tony Stewart Racing in the late 1990s and early 2000s. His dad enjoyed racing and took him to the track as often as possible.
By the time he was 9, McGranahan wanted to try it for himself, and now the soon-to-be Indiana University Bloomington graduate has been named Rookie of the Year for the Midwest Thunder 410 non-wing sprint car series in Indiana.
It’s been a long road to Rookie of the Year, and he said he has far more to go, but McGranahan continues to succeed by leaps and bounds.
“I think from a young age, going to the racetrack and it being kind of a family thing just sparked a fire within me,” McGranahan says. “I knew it was something I wanted to try and we started racing quarter midgets at the fairgrounds in Indianapolis.”
From quarter midgets to 600cc micro sprints, McGranahan was eventually hired to race a 410 wing sprint car and captured a 2023 championship at Butler Motor Speedway in Michigan.
Even from a young age, his success continued to snowball, and today he’s traveling the Midwest and racing nearly every weekend.
McGranahan races an open-wheel, 410 non-wing sprint car with a V8 engine and 900 horsepower on a dirt track. The cars go approximately 100 to 110 miles per hour, and though his team hasn’t won a main event race yet, he’s excited to see what the future will hold.
“As of 2024, I’m on the Tyler Sturgeon Racing team with my teammate Travis Berryhill,” he says. “We’re in a really competitive series and getting things sorted out as an entire team. We’ve had numerous Top 10s, several Top 5s and I think in the last half of the season, we’ve been ramping up, getting a lot more comfortable.”
The team travels to racetracks all over Indiana, Illinois and Michigan. McGranahan has been to them all. With his love of racing and experience on the track, it hasn’t hurt to call the racing capital of the world home.
“We’ve got the drag strips in Brownsburg [Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park] and probably seven or eight dirt racetracks in Indiana,” he says. “They’re all prestigious. They’ve got a lot of hype around them, and they’re just a couple of hours from here.”
They maintain their own cars, and McGranahan says he enjoys the hands-on aspect of racing. With the ups and downs of winning and losing, he says it’s not always fun to go back to the shop and maintain the cars, but he knows it can make or break a race.
He continues to do it for the adrenaline rush — the thrill of the race.
“I think it’s the danger involved that drives the excitement,” McGranahan says. “It’s a long-term goal of mine to reach the top of racing and the nerves and the adrenaline just fire me up.”
As he’s continued to grow and improve, the hard work is evident in recognition like Rookie of the Year. Throughout the Midwest Thunder series, racers accumulate points and at the end of the season, whoever has the most points is recognized.
It’s a win for McGranahan personally but also a win for his team.
“It’s really exciting and rewarding,” McGranahan says. “It feels good to represent this new team, the town of Avon and to step out onto a stage in a regional series.”
Still, he’s looking forward and hoping for even more wins in the future.
“I just want to try to get better in every race,” he says. “It’s almost like you’re racing against yourself. You want to continue to improve and figure out new creative ways to get things done and try new things.”
Racing is expensive — a constant challenge for those who want to continue. However, McGranahan has received some local sponsorships. Businesses in Hendricks County have had his back, such as Matchbox Meats, Big D’s Detailing, AIRfeet Insoles, Shafer’s Collision Repair Center and others.
Most recently, Engine Ice Hi-Performance Coolant has jumped on board. However, McGranahan says they’re always looking to partner with businesses in the area.
“A lot of my sponsors are also family friends,” he says. “I’ve received so much support from everyone. It’s exciting for them and I always look forward to getting out of the car and seeing everyone there, excited to see the race.”
When he looks forward to long-term goals, McGranahan sees himself in the United States Auto Club (USAC) Racing Series. They travel coast to coast, and he hopes to be successful among the premier circuit.
“I want to do this for a living,” he says. “It would be like living the dream. For now, we’re going to look forward to making a run for the championship next year. As a team, we’ve now been to all the tracks, so there will be no unknowns going into next year. We want to jump in and get right to it.”
Follow McGranahan at Trey McGranahan Racing on Facebook for more information.
