RACING BLOOD

Racing Blood

Perry McCartney on a lifetime at the track and the 911 race car that ties him to his father.

Racing, at its core, is about more than trophies, victories, or the sums of money that fuel the sport. Those things have their place, keeping the wheels turning, and the egos fuelled, but for most people in the paddock, it runs far deeper: an almost unavoidable pull toward high speed, a passion that, sometimes, feels like it started the day you were born.

It’s like that for Perry McCartney, a Porsche enthusiast, father, and racing driver from Orlando, Florida. I first met Perry last year at the Ninesport Motorwerks shop opening in Clermont, Florida. We spoke for sometime and we quickly realized that we happened to attend many of the same IMSA events as kids, like the Daytona 24 and 12 Hours of Sebring - races where Porsche has a dominant history. He was lucky enough to be born into club racing, growing up around the SCCA, with both parents deeply involved in all things racing.

His father, Danny, raced a 1973 RSR in SCCA, HSR, and various club series in the mid-2000s; “We lived at Sebring and Road Atlanta when I was a kid,” he explains. “My dad bought a house near Road Atlanta, and I always wondered why he wanted to be so close to the track…I even questioned why he stuck with an older car when everyone else had new 997s in SCCA at the time. But he chose the ‘73 RSR - while others chased new technology, he chased air-cooled stuff. I think that stuck with me the most over the years, being true to your passions and interests. And he could still give the 997 guys a run for their money. He poured so much into that car without ever getting much back from it. I honestly always wondered how he made it work. I have come to find that a big part of racing is losing - at the cost of the freedom you get behind the wheel.”

Perry’s connection with Porsche started around the age of five, watching his father compete and wrench on his RSR. Racing wasn’t just a weekend hobby, it was part of the fabric of the household. And it took that one RSR to leave that lasting impression on him. When he was old enough, he naturally found himself behind the wheel.

“Growing up in karting, the next step was getting into cars when I was around 14 or 15. I played racing games with friends, and we got into drifting together. Even though I came from a road racing background, something about drifting grabbed me. The best part? It was actually one of the cheapest forms of motorsport for me at the time, sometimes even cheaper than karting. My mom helped me out when I needed it most when it came to drifting. She was right there with me when I was searching for used tires and because of that, I got to chase what I wanted in racing. She’s a huge reason I’ve been able to stay close to motorsports, no matter what else was going on in life.”

After drifting for some time, I asked Perry why he came back to road racing. “I always wanted to return to it, there was still more for me to explore. And growing up near Daytona and going to IMSA races, I knew I had to find a way to get myself back on track close to this level of racing.”

That desire to return to road racing led him to something special - a piece of road racing history that brought his journey full circle. Today, Perry owns a Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Car that once battled through a full season of the Rolex GT Series in 2006, including the grueling Daytona 24. “In 2006, this car was fresh, with a whole new life ahead of it in Grand-Am. It finished second overall in GT points that season. Now, it’s TA3 (Trans-Am Series) eligible, with a Hollinger sequential, RSR subframes, and a lot of history behind it.”

Perry’s connection with Porsche started around the age of five, watching his father compete and wrench on his RSR. Racing wasn’t just a weekend hobby, it was part of the fabric of the household.

With his dad racing an air-cooled RSR for much of his racing career, it might have seemed unusual for Perry to make the jump to a watercooled car, but as it turns out, there was another Porsche-related memory: his dad also had a 997 GT3 RS. “That image has been burned into my head ever since,” he explains. “After he sold it, I knew I had to get one at some point in my life. The timing was right with this car. Some good friends at Ninesport Motorwerks jumped in to support me on this journey.”

"I grew up at the track, watching my parents drive. I wanted to be the driver so badly."

It wasn’t long before I was at Sebring for the weekend after an invite from Perry, so I was able to get into the paddock and get a taste of what they were working on; “Right now, track weekends are about building the logbook back up,” Perry says over the hum of cars screaming up the pit straight. “We’re testing, fine-tuning, and aiming to get into competitive shape. It is going to be a huge effort from everyone, and a lot of friends with Porsche backgrounds are involved right now. I couldn’t do this without them. We’re still team-building, still working through sessions, but I can’t wait to get back into the intensity of it all.”

Not just another project or a club racer, this car represents something deeper. He told me that he’s “never strayed far from racing, but being in a Porsche brings everything full circle. I grew up at the track, watching my parents drive. I wanted to be the driver so badly. I appreciate it more than ever - especially now that I have started my own family. When I see them at the track with me, it reminds me of my childhood. I want to recreate those same memories I had back then with them now.”