Charlotte, NC — It wasn't pretty but being pretty doesn't get you a better finishing position, and that was the exact philosophy Wimberley’s Trey Mitchell and his entire Trey Mitchell Racing team had after 250 laps of racing at the South Alabama Speedway. Mitchell who qualified fifteenth tussled his way to a seventh place finish in his first ever Rattler 250 start.
The Trey Mitchell Racing team, led by veteran short track crew chief Freddie Query, began the racing weekend early opting for an extra day of practice on Thursday. Trey, along with other super late model teams, tested the 4/10th mile oval throughout the day picking up as much knowledge as possible as well as getting accustomed to the backstretch wall added over the winter.
It was Saturday when the action really heated up for the Rattler 250 weekend when 31 of the best super late models qualified for this year's event. In his first super late model qualifying effort, Mitchell wheeled his Magnum's Oilfield Services/Rathole Drilling Ford Fusion to a solid 15th place position to take the green flag.
After a brief on-track autograph session, Trey climbed into his No. 47 super late model for the moment he had been waiting for. It took just seventy-five laps for Mitchell to wheel the car into the top 10 when the competition caution came out, allowing teams to change tires and add fuel on pit road under yellow.
Throughout the next 100 laps, Mitchell made his way through the field, racing against many names such as Augie Grill, Eddie Mercer, and Scott Hantz; many names he had only heard or read about until now.
The last 50 laps may have been the hardest of the young racer's career. After hard racing throughout the field that included many caution flags, the No. 47 machine got caught up in the middle, resulting in a beaten and battered race car.
While most, if not all was cosmetic damage, it still resulted in Trey being sent to the rear of the field and having to race his way to the front time after time before finally taking the checkered flag in the seventh position.
“It was certainly a wild weekend for me. Between competing in my first-ever Rattler to it being my first race behind the wheel of a super late model it was a total learning experience and that's what I really need right now.,” Mitchell said. “Even though we didn't really have the best handling car, my guys worked all weekend to make it the best they could and that's all any driver could really ask for. I want to just say thank you to John Dykes for a great weekend of racing and really let him know what he does for short track racing is really appreciated.”
from: sanmarcosrecord
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