PETERSEN MEDIA
Matt Mitchell spent his Labor Day Weekend taking on the USAC/CRA Series at the Calistoga Speedway for the 6th Annual Louie Vermeil Classic, where he tallied a ninth place finish on Sunday night on the heels of an 11th place finish during the opener.
With 34 cars on hand on Saturday night, Mitchell was off a bit in time trials, as he timed his A.R.T./MPD Racing/Parker Performance Engines entry in 13th quickest.
Lining up in the second row of his heat race, the Yorba Linda, CA chauffer, worked his way up to a second place finish, transferring himself into the feature event, where he lined up in the seventh row.
As the race got underway, Mitchell was able to maneuver early on the wide, slick track as he got up to the ninth spot at one point during the night, as the track began to take rubber.
Trying to find a line to keep moving forward, Mitchell lost a pair of positions, and ended his night with an 11th place finish.
Coming back on Sunday night, Mitchell thrilled the crowd with an exciting qualifying lap, that saw him on the edge of disaster, but the fifth fastest car in the field against the 34 cars back in action.
Being penalized before his heat race, for not being in line, Mitchell found himself starting dead last, but was able to work his way forward from ninth to score a fourth place finish, transferring himself into the feature, where he lined up in the second row.
When the 30-lap feature went green, Mitchell ran comfortably in the third spot for the first few laps, before slipping back into the fourth spot.
As laps wound down, Mitchell’s car seemed become a handful to drive, as he slowly lost spots.
When the checkered flag flew on the event, Mitchell came home with a ninth place finish.
“We had a great starting spot, and were pretty good all night on Sunday, but we missed it a bit in the feature,” he said. “The first half of the race we were a top-five car, but the second half we started losing spots, and wound up ninth.”
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-26, Wins-3, Top 5’s-7, Top 10’s-15
ON TAP: Mitchell will be back behind the wheel on September 14th at the Perris Auto Speedway.