| |
| Nationality |  Irish
|
| Born | 20 May 1979 |
| Kinsale, Ireland | |
| World Stock Car Championship | |
|---|---|
| races run over 23 season(s). | |
| Rookie Season | 1999 |
| Team(s) | Rhys Morrison Motorsports, McLellan Race Team |
| Championships | |
| Pole Positions | |
| Wins | |
| Eurocup | |
| races run over 2 season(s). | |
| Rookie Season | 1997 |
| Team(s) | FR McLellan |
| Championships | |
| Pole Positions | |
| Wins | |
| WSCC Canon Driver | |
Thomas Edward McLellan, Jr. is an Irish racing driver currently competing for his family's team, McLellan Race Team, driving the #37 Ford in the World Stock Car Championship. He is a second-generation driver; his father, Tom McLellan, Sr. raced during the 1980's and 1990's and remains one of Ireland's most popular and successful racing drivers. The elder McLellan is still involved in motorsport, as he manages the day-to-day operation of McLellan Race Team.
Early Life and Career[edit | edit source]
McLellan was born in Kinsale, a port town 25km outside of Cork. His father, Tom was just establishing himself on the stock car scene, and his mother Catherine was a music teacher. He has two younger brothers, Garett and Joseph, and a younger sister Máiréad (born 1983).
He accompanied his father to the track through the summers when he was young, and started karting by age nine. He worked his way through the national karting circuit before moving to Eurocup in 1997 to get stock car experience. While it was widely assumed he would one day run in the World Stock Car Championship, his father wanted him to earn his ride and not coast through on his name.
Eurocup Career[edit | edit source]
FR McLellan (1997 - 1998)[edit | edit source]
WSCC Career[edit | edit source]
McLellan was initially scheduled to make his WSCC debut during the 1998 Donington Grand Prix driving a car prepared by Rhys Morrison and his father; the team withdrew when Morrison's testing driver Marian Zając was killed in a testing accident days before the race.
Rhys Morrison Racing (1999 - 2001)[edit | edit source]
1999[edit | edit source]
McLellan had impressed Morrison during the course of the 1998 Eurocup season, and Morrison signed him to a four-year contract in 1999. Morrison's team had struggled in the latter part of the 1990's, and had entered a technical partnership with Ford Motor Company and McLellan Race Team, so signing the younger McLellan seemed to be a natural fit which would attract both fans and sponsors.
2000[edit | edit source]
2001[edit | edit source]
McLellan's 2001 season was, statistically, his worst to date. Rhys Morrison Racing lost several high-paying sponsors and contracted to a one-car effort over the offseason. McLellan exercised the performance clause in his contract and terminated his services with Rhys Morrison following the 2001 season, and signed with his father's team in January.
McLellan Race Team (2002 - present)[edit | edit source]
Personal Life[edit | edit source]
McLellan currently lives in Kinsale on his family's estate. He is an avid supporter of Cork City F.C., having attended every season-opener since the team's founding in 1984.
McLellan is a fluent speaker of modern Gaelic; he and crew chief Grant Godfrey often converse in mixed English and Gaelic over the radio.
McLellan met his wife Mairéad in 1996 after a karting event in Dublin; they married just before the start of his sophomore season. The couple has five children: Charles, twins Rose and Elisabeth, Dorothy, and Rory. Charles and Rose are both racing in national karting tours with support from their father and grandfather.