DJ McCain begins X275 title defense on top By Craig Cook

Alongside his brother, tuner Ryan McCain, DJ has seen steady progress over the past few seasons. Piloting“ Vecna,” the team’ s nitrous-fed 2006 C6 Corvette, McCain finished third in X275 points in 2023 and second in 2024. He broke through in 2025, securing the championship in dominant fashion, including winning three events in a row during the season.

“ It was a dream come true,” says McCain.“ I think our( round) record was 22-3 for the season. It was pretty stout, and we had a three-peat. It was a good season for us, with me and my family showing resilience. We just keep going forward with everyone that supports us.‘ Just don’ t give up’ is the main message I have to say about that.”

With the title of X275 champion comes added pressure. McCain knows he has a target on his back this year, and despite not having an event win yet, consistency has played a key factor to his early success: two semifinal-round finishes have given DJ the early points lead in his quest for a repeat.

“ The pressure is there for sure,” McCain admits.“ We’ re friends with a lot of these guys, but they let us know they’ re gunning for us. A lot of these guys, even the turbo cars, are getting more consistent. They’ re going fast at night, fast in the daytime, and I need to get in front of them just to outrun‘ em. A lot more people are bringing their A-game,

and it’ s not getting any easier, that’ s for sure.”

The McCain brothers have been synonymous with nitrous racing for years, whether it was with their wildly entertaining’ 71 Datsun“ Bowser” that ran in small-block nitrous N / T racing, or their current X275 set-up in“ Vecna.” The Corvette features a 1-of-1 648ci Pat Musi motor along with a Nitrous Outlet single system. DJ admits he has a sense of pride going out and continuing to find success against the boosted combinations.

“ Every round to me is a battle. That’ s how I race,” says McCain.“ Some of these guys have been around the game a long time. They know how to race, and get smarter and smarter with technology. We’ re just trying to keep nitrous on the map for as long as we can. We’ re definitely pushing our combo to the limit. We want to keep it alive for at least another year and see if we can fight them off.”

DJ and Ryan have been competing with each other their entire lives, whether it was sports or video games. Alongside their parents, Lester and Rhonda McCain, they’ ve raced together since they were teenagers. They won back-to-back Carolina N / T small-block nitrous points championships in 2018-2019. Their success didn’ t go unnoticed, with both brothers earning a coveted spot in the Drag IllustrateD 30 Under 30 class of 2019. That familial bond is something DJ believes makes their team truly special – so much so that he doesn’ t see himself racing with anyone else.

“ Me and him have always been tight since we were young,” McCain says.“ We kind of just go hand-in-hand. I don’ t think we’ re gonna do it without each other. It’ s just one of those things where we agree and are on the same page – I can see his mind and what he’ s thinking. He tells me when I’ m slacking as a driver. It’ s constructive criticism. Nobody takes offense to it – we build and make each other better. I do the best I can on the tree, try to make his job a little easier, and he does the best he can on the keyboard. We work well together, and we’ re finally getting to show it off.”

With five races still left on the X275 schedule( only four of which are points races), there’ s still plenty of time for contenders to rise and fall. One thing is for sure, though: DJ McCain will be right in the thick of the championship hunt, and if anyone is going to take his title away, they’ re going to have to fight him all year for it.

“ The championship is a marathon, not a sprint. You’ ve got to go rounds,” says McCain.“ I’ ve seen people not win many races at all but get a championship … but winning definitely helps. The goal is always to win – but the championship is the end goal. I’ ve gotta just do my job as a driver, be confident in my brother, and continue to improve. We’ re not going to give it to them. We’ re gonna make‘ em earn it.” DI

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ROBERT RICHARD AND LUKE NIEUWHOF