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TALLADEGA, AL (Oct. 20)....... Richard Mitchell, the pride of Bruceton
Mills,
West Va. and West Virginia University, finished fifth in the Automobile
Racing Club of America (ARCA) RE/MAX series sanctioned Food World 300 at
the
2.66 mile Talladega Superspeedway Saturday afternoon.
Mitchell, who qualified 16th for the event at a speed of over 180 MPH,
charged to a podium finish behind the wheel of his Coach USA/Mountaineer
Gaming/Forest River Motorhomes Pontiac Grand Prix. But the two-time
NASCAR
Weekly Racing Series Northeast Region champion almost wasn't around to
see
the checkered flag.
"These cars move around so much in traffic on the big tracks.....I
bounced
the car off the wall early in the race and flattened the right-side body
work," Mitchell said, "according to the experts that should have
screwed-up
the aero package and slowed us down, but we got faster as the race
progressed."
The Talladega contest marked Mitchell's first venture on the ultra-fast
superspeedways and the world of 'drafting.'
"It's a wild ride," added Mitchell, 'you're running bumper-to-bumper at
over
185 MPH. One lap you're running sixth and the next lap you can be all
the
way back to 15th. We didn't practice here (Talladega), so the race was a
learning experience for our team. I can't wait for Daytona next
February."
Mitchell will have one more test this season before concentrating on
Daytona,
as he is entered in the ARCA RE/MAX finale at the 1.5 mile Atlanta Motor
Speedway on Sat. Nov. 17.
The fifth-place Talladega finish was Mitchell's second top-5, fourth
top-ten
and sixth top-15 finish of the 2001 ARCA season. |
