This crash looked worse than it seemed, but it was still a pain, according to driver Zack Mitchell. It occurred during practice for the Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series at All-Tech Raceway in Lake City, Florida.
“I locked the brakes up in the corner, and the motor stalled,” Mitchell, of Enoree, South Carolina, said. “I went into a slide, hitting the wall with the back end, then the side and the front end. It has happened to me a couple of times before, but the results were never this bad.”
Mitchell emerged from the crash uninjured. He sat in a ButlerBuilt full-containment seat, with a Hooker Harness five-point harness. Mitchell wore a Bell helmet paired with a NecksGen head-and-neck restraint. He did say he had a sore hand from it hitting against the steering wheel.
The impact bent both the front and rear bumpers of the late model built by Barry Wright Race Cars. It also damaged a shock. The body took the brunt of the blow, though.
“A sharp-looking body means a lot for a racer,” said Mitchell. “First of all, aerodynamics play a huge role in these cars. Everything on the body has to be perfect for the maximum effect of the forces that keep the car on the track.
“Just as important is keeping the sponsors looking good. A nice-looking car represents the sponsors well.”
Unfortunately, Zack Mitchell couldn’t repair the damage in time for the feature. However, as a welder by trade and possessing a wealth of experience doing sheet metal work, he was well equipped to make the repairs.
“The bumpers had to be straightened and welded; one shock was bent,” Mitchell said. “Repairing those things didn’t come close in the time needed to refabricate the body. It will take 25 to 30 hours, including recreating and applying the graphics.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
