From Peterson Media
Coming back from one of the gnarliest wrecks of the season in 2012 that left him sidelined from July until now, Matt Mitchell was hoping to put in a solid showing at the Copper on Dirt, however a lap three crash on Saturday night spoiled his return.
“The weekend wasn’t all bad,” Mitchell said. “We had a good run on Friday, and Saturday was not terrible until we crashed, but we crashed and tore up a lot of equipment.”
After experiencing vision issues as a result of is Terra Haute crash, Mitchell spent much of the last eight months getting ready for this weekend, and climbing back into his Matt Mitchell Racing No.37.
Going green at the Canyon Speedway Park on Friday night, Mitchell’s night started off with him timing his ART/MPD Racing/Parker Performance Engines mount in 12th fastest, setting him up nicely for his heat race.
Scoring a fourth place finish in his heat, on the hooked up track, Mitchell transferred into the feature event where he would line up in the 12th position.
Prior to the feature, track prep was done in hopes of widening out CSP, and it seemed to work nicely as cars could get off the bottom and work the cushion, but it was still fast.
As the green light’s flashed, Mitchell quickly put his machine on top of the track and looked to move forward, but the track was still extremely fast.
Slowly working his was inside the top-10, Mitchell would close out his season opening feature event with an eighth place finish.
Looking to capitalize off the momentum his built up from Friday, Saturday night seemed to go down hill for Mitchell as soon as the pill draw opened.
Pulling a low number for qualifications, Mitchell’s qualifying laps were on a very greasy track, and he wound up with 16th quickest.
A third place finish in his heat, put the Caliagua/Bell Helmets/Hedman Hedders in the feature event, but he would be back in the 16th spot.
Mitchell’s feature would be very short lived, as a car slowed directly in front of him on the third lap, sending his mount upside down, ending his night.
“It was awesome to be back in the car, but it’s frustrating anytime you don’t get results, or crash,” he said. “Pill draw for qualifying was everything down here, and our qualifying efforts put us back in the field both nights.”
Matt Mitchell Racing would like to thank, A.R.T. Enterprises, MPD Racing, Parker Performance Engines, Caliagua, Bell Helmets, and Hedman Hedders for their support in 2013.
2013 BY THE NUMBERS: Races-2, Wins-0, Top 5’s-0, Top 10’s-1
ON TAP: The Matt Mitchell Racing team will be back in action on Saturday night at the Perris Auto Speedway for another round of USAC/CRA action.